'Sweet' 11-Year-Old Boy Battling Deadly Brain Cancer: 'His Tumor Is So Rare, It's Inoperable' Dad Says

People
·2 min read
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Silas Strong
Silas Strong

GoFundMe

The first sign something was wrong came over the summer when Silas Kurtz noticed the strength in his left hand had weakened.

A few weeks later, the 11-year-old boy was diagnosed with grade 4 gliomatosis cerebri, a rare type of brain cancer with no known cure that has a five-year survival rate of just 18.8 percent.

According to a GoFundMe campaign set up to raise funds for the family, Silas' mother, Christina Cobb, left her job to manage her son's treatment, which includes radiation, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

"No one can really imagine seeing their child go through painful procedures and hospital stays," organizers said. "No cancer is easy, especially for a child."

"Kids can be brave," they added, "but what he will go through would be terrifying even for an adult."

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In an interview with Hometown Life, the Michigan family said Silas' tumor is primiarly located in his corpus callosum, which links the two hemispheres of the brain, according to Cleveland Clinic. It is also inoperable.

"The glioblastoma is kind of the worst glioma you can have," Silas' father told the outlet. "Because his tumor is so rare, it's inoperable."

Signs of the devastating diagnosis came just a month after Christina and her husband, Dan Cobb, welcomed a daughter in June. Silas took an immediate liking to his younger sister Elena.

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"Silas is the best big brother," GoFundMe organizers said. "Right away he was offering to watch her, to help entertain her, and he can't seem to get enough cuddles with her. Life was perfect."

Despite the dire situation, Dan and Christina are treasuring all the time they have with Silas.

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"I feel so lucky that (Dan) can work and I can spend a little more time with Silas," Christina told the outlet. "The stuff we're doing isn't fun, it's back and forth from doctors, but it's extra time I get with him."

The donation campaign has raised nearly $40,000 for the family as of Thursday afternoon. Christina and Dan are providing updates on their Facebook page, Silas Strong.