Mom quits job as 911 operator to care for Coweta toddler with cancer
Georgia toddler battles life-threatening cancer
A Coweta County toddler is preparing for a high-risk surgery in New York after a life-threatening cancer tumor returned months after its removal, according to his family.
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A Coweta County family is pleading with strangers for prayers and donations as their 20-month-old son prepares for a risky, life-saving surgery in New York later this month.
What they're saying:
Heidi and Jeramy Rogers said their son, Noah Rogers, was born healthy, but doctors diagnosed him with cancer at 10 months old.
Noah Rogers loves to run and play like any 1-year-old toddler, but a life-threatening mass sits between his liver and kidney.
His mother quit her job as a 911 operator to become his full-time caregiver.
Doctors confirmed the diagnosis after performing an X-ray, ultrasound and additional testing at Arthur M. Blank Children's Hospital.
"It is kinda like everything just stopped. All you can say was, okay, what's next? A bunch of tests," Jeramy Rogers said.
In his 20 short months of life, Noah Rogers has endured three surgeries, a feeding tube and extensive chemotherapy treatments.
Surgeons in Atlanta successfully removed the tumor, but the aggressive cancer returned just two months later.
"With it being high risk neuroblastoma..the tumor can grow a lot more aggressively and quicker. So basically the whole thing came back after two months," Heidi Rogers explained.
With the tumor growing back rapidly, local options have run out for the family.
"If we do nothing, like no treatment. It is guaranteed death," Heidi Rogers said.
The family is traveling to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York for a critical operation later this month.
What you can do:
Devastated parents, grandparents and great-grandparents say the upcoming trip to New York is their last hope to save the young boy's life.
The family created a GoFundMe account to cover travel and medical expenses. They are asking strangers to donate and keep the toddler in their prayers.
To see the GoFundMe, click here.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Heidi and Jeramy Rogers, who explained their son's medical journey and provided quotes regarding his diagnosis, as well as reporting from Aungelique Proctor.