Joseph went into remission, but three years later, now as a high school wrestler, the cancer came back. This time he needed a bone marrow transplant.
SAN ANTONIO — September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. It is a time to bring awareness to all of the childhood cancers that take too many lives every year. There are more than 100 sub-types of childhood cancers, so finding the right treatment as fast as possible is a must.
“I guess as a middle schooler, it was it was definitely a hard, just, I had a allergic reaction to one of them,” said Joseph Brink who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the Fall of 2020. You can read about his journey right here. As a football player, the disease took him out of the game. Brink told us, “I was stuck on the sideline that is hard, being stuck there and having to watch and not getting out there.” His father added, “It was really hard seeing my son not be able to go to school and not be able to participate in football and things like that.”
Joseph went into remission, but three years later, now as a high school wrestler, the cancer came back. This time he needed a bone marrow transplant. Brink said, “I was kind of scared and knowing I’m going to have to be stuck in the hospital for a month or maybe even more.”
Dr. Dimarys Sanchez, a pediatric hematology/oncology physician with CHRISTUS Children’s said, “He had to again go through pretty intense treatment, this time with more aggressive immunotherapy and chemotherapy and had to receive ultimately, consolidate his bone marrow transplant to hopefully ensure that he will remain in remission.”
The American Association for Cancer Research says pediatric cancers are the leading cause of death from disease for children in the US. Every year about 1600 children and adolescence in the US die from cancer.
Now, Brinks is once again in remission, back to wrestling, and has an incredible support system of medical staff, family, friends, and even celebrities like actor Chris Pratt who told him, “I heard about you and I heard your story, and I wanted to let you know that I love you and “ill be praying for you.”
His father has this message for families going through similar battles. He said, “Be there, advocate, stand up for your child and and try to get the results that you need.”