as many of you know, adrian was diagnosed with stage-4, high-risk rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of pediatric cancer in mid-august. approximately 350 new cases of "rhabdo" are diagnosed in the U.S. every year, making adrian truly one in a million (as if we didn't already know that!). however, our time at sloan-kettering (reputedly the best hospital for this form of cancer) attests to the fact that there are far too many little ones fighting this challenging disease. one, of course, would be too many.
rhabdomyosarcoma is a skeletal-muscle cell borne form of cancer that can show little to no signs until it is significantly advanced. often times (as in adrian's case), the first sign is the protrusion of a tumor. as those who were with adrian in mexico for our good friends' wedding can tell you, he was the picture of health and happiness well into the first day that the initial signs of his cancer appeared. he continues to be such a good boy, bringing all around him (from the janitorial staff at sloan to his family) so many smiles and giggles.
we will be putting more information about the disease on this site in the future. in the meantime, additional information can be found on the sites below:
american cancer society_rhabdo
curesearch_rhabdo
national cancer institute_rhabdo