Meet Keaton Kiddo ~ Kenneth

Meet Kenneth! Kenneth is a strong and bright 14-year old who was referred to Keaton’s back in 2018.  After being diagnosed with Malignant Thymoma, a cancer that occurs when cancer cells form on the outside surface of the thymus, Kenneth has put up a strong fight against cancer.  Following a previous surgery in 2019, Kenneth, unfortunately, developed fluid in his lungs and was placed into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).  Thankfully, he was able to recover and continued his treatment of radiation and chemotherapy at both Kaiser Oakland, and locally at Kaiser Roseville.  Eventually, Kenneth became well enough to go back to school and even attended a Kings Game, last July, that was coordinated on behalf of The Golden One Center and Keaton’s Child Cancer Alliance.

After some time had passed, in May of 2020, the Family Navigator Team at Keaton’s received devastating news that Kenneth was in hospice.  We reached out to the family and learned that the family was in, what mom called, a “strange beautifully weird space”.  While Kenneth was in hospice, the family was preparing for a transition to their journey, as Kenneth was not expected to breathe on his own without a supporting tube.  Once the tube was removed, the family was overjoyed and more than thankful to see that Kenneth continued breathing on his own.  Following their miracle, the family prepared for a surgery to remove a tumor from Kenneth’s left lung.  Before the surgery, tests were conducted and the Medical Team found that Kenneth’s tumor had shrunk and there was no longer a need for surgery or removal.

During a recent follow-up call, Kenneth’s family shared the unfortunate news that Kenneth recently began to experience some pain and after consulting with his medical team, Kenneth learned that his tumor has begun to increase in size.  His family has also been facing many challenges from COVID-19 and effects from the fires in Napa County.  Despite all that he and his family are facing, they are all so thankful that Kenneth is back home and staying as active as possible. Kenneth’s mom touched on how much he enjoys practicing dribbling his basketball and how he is back in school enjoying distance learning with his fellow classmates.  Since Kenneth’s tumor is growing, he is now preparing for the possibility of going through treatment again and battling cancer.  As you can imagine, this is a lot for his family to process, but they believe that their faith and Kenneth’s faith is what keeps him strong in his fight against childhood cancer.  Kenneth will also be celebrating his 15th birthday next month.  His family plans to celebrate every year and make it as special as possible.