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Team AJ

Team AJ

After developing cancer in his left eye and fighting it roughly two years ago, AJ Watt, a rising fourth grader at Cash Elementary School (CES), is once again fighting rhabdomyosarcoma.

AJ’s mother, Angela Watt, a teacher at CES, explained that the family first noticed there was something wrong in May 2012 when AJ developed a growth on his left eye and it had become swollen.

“We thought he got hit in the eye and then we thought he had a sty, so we tried hot and cold compresses, but (the growth) just kept getting bigger everyday,” she said.

Concerned, Angela took AJ to see their pediatrician, but was then referred to a specialist.

“There was one pediatric eye specialist at Baptist Hospital and it took a while to get in to see him,” she said, noting it wasn’t until the middle of June that they had an appointment. “He immediately called his colleague over (Dr. Patrick Yeatts), who specializes in eye sockets and lids. He took one look at it and knew immediately it was rhabdomyosarcoma.”

Angela explained that they performed a biopsy of the growth, as well as a bone marrow biopsy, and inserted a portacath so AJ could receive chemotherapy.

After performing the biopsies, AJ underwent surgery to remove a large portion of the tumor.

“They didn’t remove all of it because they didn’t want to ruin his vision and they wanted to see if the chemo would shrink it and it did,” she affirmed. “AJ received 40 weeks of chemo, and every third week he went in overnight to the hospital to receive more chemotherapy.”

AJ, then a second grader, explained that when he found out he had cancer he was a bit scared.

“I was a little scared,” he remarked as he noted how the chemotherapy makes him feel. “The chemo makes me have low energy and I just feel like resting and I feel sick to my stomach.”

Not only was AJ scared, but his friends were too.

“My friends and classmates were scared, so they started doing things for me,” he explained.

Angela said a counselor from Brenner Children’s Hospital even came to his classroom to talk with the students about AJ.

“He came and talked to the students about why AJ got to wear a hat to school and told them they couldn’t catch what he had,” she said. “It was a cool way to explain it on their level, and it allowed them to ask questions.”

After having completed his chemotherapy, later that fall AJ underwent a total of 25 sessions of radiation over five weeks, Monday through Friday.

Angela explained that after all of his treatments, AJ was cancer free for almost a year.

“The chemo had shrunk the tumor down to almost nothing and we thought we were in the clear,” she said, noting that throughout time AJ had to be screened every three to four months. “You have to be cancer free for five years before you are considered clear.”

While it was looking good for AJ, during one of the routine scans in May 2014 the cancer showed up again.

“What they saw was residual cancer cells, which meant the cancer had started to grow again,” she stated.

With the new finding, doctors performed another biopsy. AJ is now undergoing a new kind of chemotherapy, which he will take for another six months to a year.

“It is a very aggressive cancer with not a lot of research available, so we’re lucky it’s just in his eye,” Angela remarked. “If it comes back a third time, the chances of getting rid of it are only 20 percent.”

Angela noted that while removing his eye would likely eliminate the cancer completely, they worry it may eventually come to that.

Angela said it has been a very emotional time for the family.

“The prognosis was always very good, but very emotional,” she said, as she explained how hard it can be to juggle three children, her job as a teacher and making trips to the hospital, all the while worrying about her son.

She said another concern is the portacath.

“We had to be careful of germs and fevers since it was an opening to his body,” she said. “Every time he got a fever we had to take him to the E.R.”

Angela noted that since finding out AJ has cancer, they have started participating in walks for Kids of Childhood Cancer that benefit Brenner Children’s Hospital, as well as a walk at Tanglewood Park that benefits Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Throughout the past two years, AJ has had a lot of support from the community.

“We all wore t-shirts at school and at home that we designed to show our support for AJ and the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent us to Disneyland in California last July, so we could be with family out there and so they could join us,” she explained.

A fundraiser was held in AJ’s honor earlier this month at Main Street United Methodist Church by the staff at CES.

Others are rallying behind AJ through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-AJ/838468142848149 and by selling Team AJ bracelets, which come in both adult and youth sizes and are yellow to represent childhood cancer.

Bracelets are $5 and can be bought in bulk for cheaper.

All proceeds go to the Watt family for medical expenses.

If interested in placing an order, send an email to TeamAJWatt@gmail.com.

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