EDIT 8/2/23
Luke passed away this morning. In recent months his cancer came back yet again, and after 10 years of fighting, there were finally no more options. He was placed on hospice and sent home last week.
Given his initial prognosis and many relapses, everyone knew this day was coming. That doesn't make it any easier, though. Please keep the Bacas in your thoughts and prayers.
EDIT 7/5/21
Luke was discharged from his latest round of chemo over the weekend. He's doing much better than he had been, but the cancer is still there. Luckily this round seems to have cleared evening but the original relapse site. The chemo means he's once again lost most of his hair, and his mom shaved off what little he had left after they got home.
Speaking of shaving, since Luke's diagnosis, his dad Jason has gotten pretty involved in fundraising for The St. Baldrick's Foundation. They're the largest private source of hugging for childhood cancer research, and they do a lot of good. Every year for the past several years, Jason has grown out his hair and beard future a few months and shaved it all off to help raise awareness and funds for this great organization.
I joined Jason's fundraising team 3 years ago and shaved a pretty nice beard I'd been growing out for a couple of years. With Luke's relapse last year, I decided a few months ago I'd like to help fundraise again this year. I've got a nice 5-6 month shadow going, and I'll be shaving it along with many others at a St. Baldrick's event at Alamo Beer Company in September.
If you'd like to help kids like Luke and donate, my page is here. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, etc helps bring in donations and is very appreciated, as well as thoughts and prayers for like and his family. With your help, we can beat cancer for kids like Luke!
EDIT 5/8/21
Luke is not doing well. He's been in the hospital for the past few weeks. The cancer keeps coming back, and along with it all kinds of complications. After last August, he entered another trial treatment, but that has proven ineffective in his case. He didn't respond well enough to stay in the trial. He had some follow up scans that seemed promising and like maybe a delayed response, but it turned out to be nothing. He's reentered chemo treatment, but from what I understand there are not many, if any, options left for actual treatment.
His family was hoping he'd be home for Mother's Day, and it looked like he would, but after some sudden abdominal pain and x-rays, his doctors find an issue with his colon. For awhile, he couldn't bring himself to eat or drink due to the chemo. Now, he can't eat or drink due to the colon issue even though he wants to.
Please keep praying for Luke and his family.
EDIT 8//19/20
Luke's annual scans came back last week, and his cancer has returned once again. No word on treatment yet. Each time this happens, it gets scarier for him and his family because it will be harder to beat. This post is almost 7 years old now. Luke was first diagnosed when he was 5. Luke isn't even a teenager and has had to look death in the face more times than most adults. For his parents and twin sister, this might finally be the time when he can't breast it and they have to bury their son/brother. I know everyone is fed up with covid and the impacts to or daily lives, football, etc, but this should remind us all that whatever troubles we face in our daily lives, someone out they is enduring much more. Please pray for him and his family as they go through this once again.
EDIT 9/14/18
Luke's cancer is back once again. Please pray for this young man and his family. He has been fighting this of and on for the last 5 years, which is half of his life.
My wife's coworker and his wife are both Ags. Early last week, they found out that their 5 year old son, Luke, had a softballsized tumor in his abdomen, and he had surgery on Friday to remove it. The tumor weighed about a pound and a half when it was removed, and it contained cancer cells. On top of that, they discovered cancer cells in his bone marrow.
Needless to say, this poor kid is going to have to go through chemo. I have met him and his family several times, and he is a really great kid. I can't imagine the toll this will take on him and his family in the coming months, especially with holidays fast approaching. Please keep these Ags in your thoughts and prayers.
EDIT: I got Luke's age wrong. I was thinking he was 8 but he is actually only 5.
Edit: ***UPDATE for 10/28/2014***
It has now been a year since Luke was first diagnosed. He has responded pretty well to all of his treatments so far, but he is not done yet. In February, his doctors found minute traces of cancerous cells still in his bone marrow. The number of cancerous cells had shrunk to 5% of what it was when it was first found, but it was still there. He was not able to undergo stem cell therapy and had to continue with another round of chemo (from what I understand). That round is now finishing up, and he should be starting on the stem cell therapy soon (a month?).
This past year has been really hard on him and his family, especially his sister. His weight and strength have fluctuated a ton, and their relationship has been much different than what they were used to. There have also been extended periods where they've been kept apart to prevent complications with his decreased ability to fight off infections. As twins and at their age, that's a pretty hard thing for them both to go through. Please keep Luke and his family in your thoughts and prayers. This has been a long journey for them, but they still have a ways to go. Thanks.
Edit: ***UPDATE for 2/20/2014***
Luke has been doing really well. He is on his last round of chemo, and his initial scans show that the cancer in his bone marrow is gone. He will have more tests done to make sure that the cancer is in fact out of his bone marrow, but it is a very encouraging sign. Once he is done with chemo, he will undergo stem cell therapy for several weeks. It may or may not be necessary, but having it done has been shown to increase survival rates by something like 30% (IIRC). From what I understand, it will not be pleasant, but I can't imagine it being worse than chemo. Please continue to keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers until he is in the clear. I now that they appreciate it.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 1/23/14***
Luke went to the ER tonight. He's running a fever and need a blood transfusion. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong, but I am sure he and his family could use your prayers right now. He has had it pretty rough with his last couple of rounds if chemo, and this is just another bump that he does not need on his road to recovery.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 1/1/14***
Luke was doing really well in his first two rounds of chemo, but they changed his treatment in his latest round. He started the day after Christmas, and the stuff he's getting now is a lot harder on him. He's been throwing up a lot and has had a lot of trouble keeping things down, but he got to go home yesterday. Please keep praying for him and that he and his family have a 2014 filled with healing and happiness.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 11/17/13***
Luke finished his first round of chemo this week and was able to go home yesterday. He has been doing really well, and he's in high spirits. I finally got the link to his mom's
CaringBridge site, but I am having trouble posting the link from mobile. Luke's mom will be posting updates on how things are going and how Luke is doing so people can stay updated and offer their support.
The donation site set up by Luke's family and friends reached their target amount of $10,000 in only four days. I have no doubt that part of this success has to do with the generosity of the Aggie family. All of this money will go directly to treatment costs for Luke, and will prove to be a big help to his family since both of his parents are having to take a lot of time off work to be with him during treatment.
Thank you all who have been keeping Luke and his family in your thoughts and prayers. They really appreciate the support that they've gotten from family, friends and strangers during such a difficult time for them.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 11/11/13***
Luke starts chemo today. His doctors have said that it will probably last a total of 16-18 weeks with him being in and out of the hospital. He will be in the hospital until Friday undergoing treatments and observation. His family is hoping that he will get to come home on Saturday. His parents have had a pretty hard time explaining why he is going to have to go through the chemo treatments even though the doctors were able to remove the tumor. Being so young, he just doesn't understand the concept of cancer or what he is going to have to go through to beat it. Please continue praying for him and especially his family.
Below is a picture of him with his twin sister Leia (his dad bet his mom that if they had fraternal twins he would get to name them Luke and Leia):
Luke's mom has set up a CaringBridge site to provide updates and so people can give them prayers and encouragement directly. I don't have a link yet, but as soon as I do I will post it.
Some of Luke's extended family and family friends have set up a site to donate to in order to help his parents with medical expenses. Please don't feel obligated to donate anything; While the treatments that Luke will need will be expensive, what the family really needs right now are thoughts and prayers for strength and healing. I will keep providing updates as I get them.
Edit for 5/21/17: For awhile, it looked like Luke was doing really well and was cancer free. All of his tests had been negative for almost two years, but in the last few weeks something showed up on a urine screen. He went through more tests, and his cancer is back. This time it looks like it is on his bones. His doctors say that they may have caught it really early and can treat it aggressively, and Luke is oddly excited about being able to get back into treatment to beat it. However, survival rates for this kind of cancer coming back like this are not great. From what I understand it's around 20%. Needless to say, his parents took the news pretty hard and could use prayers for strength, peace, as greasing for Luke. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 11/5/2013 10:49p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 11/11/2013 10:43a).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 11/17/2013 12:22p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 1/1/2014 2:18p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 1/23/2014 11:55p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 2/20/2014 9:33a).]
Luke passed away this morning. In recent months his cancer came back yet again, and after 10 years of fighting, there were finally no more options. He was placed on hospice and sent home last week.
Given his initial prognosis and many relapses, everyone knew this day was coming. That doesn't make it any easier, though. Please keep the Bacas in your thoughts and prayers.
EDIT 7/5/21
Luke was discharged from his latest round of chemo over the weekend. He's doing much better than he had been, but the cancer is still there. Luckily this round seems to have cleared evening but the original relapse site. The chemo means he's once again lost most of his hair, and his mom shaved off what little he had left after they got home.
Speaking of shaving, since Luke's diagnosis, his dad Jason has gotten pretty involved in fundraising for The St. Baldrick's Foundation. They're the largest private source of hugging for childhood cancer research, and they do a lot of good. Every year for the past several years, Jason has grown out his hair and beard future a few months and shaved it all off to help raise awareness and funds for this great organization.
I joined Jason's fundraising team 3 years ago and shaved a pretty nice beard I'd been growing out for a couple of years. With Luke's relapse last year, I decided a few months ago I'd like to help fundraise again this year. I've got a nice 5-6 month shadow going, and I'll be shaving it along with many others at a St. Baldrick's event at Alamo Beer Company in September.
If you'd like to help kids like Luke and donate, my page is here. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, etc helps bring in donations and is very appreciated, as well as thoughts and prayers for like and his family. With your help, we can beat cancer for kids like Luke!
EDIT 5/8/21
Luke is not doing well. He's been in the hospital for the past few weeks. The cancer keeps coming back, and along with it all kinds of complications. After last August, he entered another trial treatment, but that has proven ineffective in his case. He didn't respond well enough to stay in the trial. He had some follow up scans that seemed promising and like maybe a delayed response, but it turned out to be nothing. He's reentered chemo treatment, but from what I understand there are not many, if any, options left for actual treatment.
His family was hoping he'd be home for Mother's Day, and it looked like he would, but after some sudden abdominal pain and x-rays, his doctors find an issue with his colon. For awhile, he couldn't bring himself to eat or drink due to the chemo. Now, he can't eat or drink due to the colon issue even though he wants to.
Please keep praying for Luke and his family.
EDIT 8//19/20
Luke's annual scans came back last week, and his cancer has returned once again. No word on treatment yet. Each time this happens, it gets scarier for him and his family because it will be harder to beat. This post is almost 7 years old now. Luke was first diagnosed when he was 5. Luke isn't even a teenager and has had to look death in the face more times than most adults. For his parents and twin sister, this might finally be the time when he can't breast it and they have to bury their son/brother. I know everyone is fed up with covid and the impacts to or daily lives, football, etc, but this should remind us all that whatever troubles we face in our daily lives, someone out they is enduring much more. Please pray for him and his family as they go through this once again.
EDIT 9/14/18
Luke's cancer is back once again. Please pray for this young man and his family. He has been fighting this of and on for the last 5 years, which is half of his life.
My wife's coworker and his wife are both Ags. Early last week, they found out that their 5 year old son, Luke, had a softballsized tumor in his abdomen, and he had surgery on Friday to remove it. The tumor weighed about a pound and a half when it was removed, and it contained cancer cells. On top of that, they discovered cancer cells in his bone marrow.
Needless to say, this poor kid is going to have to go through chemo. I have met him and his family several times, and he is a really great kid. I can't imagine the toll this will take on him and his family in the coming months, especially with holidays fast approaching. Please keep these Ags in your thoughts and prayers.
EDIT: I got Luke's age wrong. I was thinking he was 8 but he is actually only 5.
Edit: ***UPDATE for 10/28/2014***
It has now been a year since Luke was first diagnosed. He has responded pretty well to all of his treatments so far, but he is not done yet. In February, his doctors found minute traces of cancerous cells still in his bone marrow. The number of cancerous cells had shrunk to 5% of what it was when it was first found, but it was still there. He was not able to undergo stem cell therapy and had to continue with another round of chemo (from what I understand). That round is now finishing up, and he should be starting on the stem cell therapy soon (a month?).
This past year has been really hard on him and his family, especially his sister. His weight and strength have fluctuated a ton, and their relationship has been much different than what they were used to. There have also been extended periods where they've been kept apart to prevent complications with his decreased ability to fight off infections. As twins and at their age, that's a pretty hard thing for them both to go through. Please keep Luke and his family in your thoughts and prayers. This has been a long journey for them, but they still have a ways to go. Thanks.
Edit: ***UPDATE for 2/20/2014***
Luke has been doing really well. He is on his last round of chemo, and his initial scans show that the cancer in his bone marrow is gone. He will have more tests done to make sure that the cancer is in fact out of his bone marrow, but it is a very encouraging sign. Once he is done with chemo, he will undergo stem cell therapy for several weeks. It may or may not be necessary, but having it done has been shown to increase survival rates by something like 30% (IIRC). From what I understand, it will not be pleasant, but I can't imagine it being worse than chemo. Please continue to keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers until he is in the clear. I now that they appreciate it.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 1/23/14***
Luke went to the ER tonight. He's running a fever and need a blood transfusion. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong, but I am sure he and his family could use your prayers right now. He has had it pretty rough with his last couple of rounds if chemo, and this is just another bump that he does not need on his road to recovery.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 1/1/14***
Luke was doing really well in his first two rounds of chemo, but they changed his treatment in his latest round. He started the day after Christmas, and the stuff he's getting now is a lot harder on him. He's been throwing up a lot and has had a lot of trouble keeping things down, but he got to go home yesterday. Please keep praying for him and that he and his family have a 2014 filled with healing and happiness.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 11/17/13***
Luke finished his first round of chemo this week and was able to go home yesterday. He has been doing really well, and he's in high spirits. I finally got the link to his mom's
CaringBridge site, but I am having trouble posting the link from mobile. Luke's mom will be posting updates on how things are going and how Luke is doing so people can stay updated and offer their support.
The donation site set up by Luke's family and friends reached their target amount of $10,000 in only four days. I have no doubt that part of this success has to do with the generosity of the Aggie family. All of this money will go directly to treatment costs for Luke, and will prove to be a big help to his family since both of his parents are having to take a lot of time off work to be with him during treatment.
Thank you all who have been keeping Luke and his family in your thoughts and prayers. They really appreciate the support that they've gotten from family, friends and strangers during such a difficult time for them.
EDIT: ***UPDATE for 11/11/13***
Luke starts chemo today. His doctors have said that it will probably last a total of 16-18 weeks with him being in and out of the hospital. He will be in the hospital until Friday undergoing treatments and observation. His family is hoping that he will get to come home on Saturday. His parents have had a pretty hard time explaining why he is going to have to go through the chemo treatments even though the doctors were able to remove the tumor. Being so young, he just doesn't understand the concept of cancer or what he is going to have to go through to beat it. Please continue praying for him and especially his family.
Below is a picture of him with his twin sister Leia (his dad bet his mom that if they had fraternal twins he would get to name them Luke and Leia):
Luke's mom has set up a CaringBridge site to provide updates and so people can give them prayers and encouragement directly. I don't have a link yet, but as soon as I do I will post it.
Some of Luke's extended family and family friends have set up a site to donate to in order to help his parents with medical expenses. Please don't feel obligated to donate anything; While the treatments that Luke will need will be expensive, what the family really needs right now are thoughts and prayers for strength and healing. I will keep providing updates as I get them.
Edit for 5/21/17: For awhile, it looked like Luke was doing really well and was cancer free. All of his tests had been negative for almost two years, but in the last few weeks something showed up on a urine screen. He went through more tests, and his cancer is back. This time it looks like it is on his bones. His doctors say that they may have caught it really early and can treat it aggressively, and Luke is oddly excited about being able to get back into treatment to beat it. However, survival rates for this kind of cancer coming back like this are not great. From what I understand it's around 20%. Needless to say, his parents took the news pretty hard and could use prayers for strength, peace, as greasing for Luke. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 11/5/2013 10:49p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 11/11/2013 10:43a).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 11/17/2013 12:22p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 1/1/2014 2:18p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 1/23/2014 11:55p).]
[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 2/20/2014 9:33a).]