Bryan’s Cancer Fight (Third Relapse)

Bryan Benitez is a second grader and is 7 years old. He was first diagnosed with Leukemia (Cancer) January 2016, he was only 3 years old. He was undergoing chemo therapy and was in remission (cancer was asleep) but unfortunately relapsed for the first time October 2018. Bryan would have been done May 2019 with his chemo treatment. Unfortunately when Bryan relapsed for the first time in 2018 his cancer came back more aggressive. It took 6 months to get Bryan into remission. When his first immunotherapy did not work we were only given a year for Bryan to live. Luckily Stanford gave us some hope. They decided to give him a second dose of the immunotherapy and in March Bryan achieved remission. We had to move fast and get approvals and In May 2019 he was finally able to receive a bone marrow transplant. All of our family was tested but unfortunately we only had one in our family who was a perfect match. Bryan’s 16 year old brother was a perfect match and he donated his bone marrow. Unfortunately Bryan relapsed again for the second time October of 2019. This time his cancer came back more aggressive than the first relapse. Now he will be undergoing a more experimental treatment at Stanford children’s hospital. This therapy is called CarT cell therapy. This past year he spent 7 months at Stanford children’s hospital and another 6 months at Valley children’s. I am working closely with be the match and will be hosting a drive on Tuesday 2/18/20 at the Coalinga High School Hub 750 Van Ness in Coalinga from 3-7 p.m. All donors must be between 18-44 and healthy. First step is just a swab and fill out paperwork only takes 10 minutes of your time. At the current moment he is not in remission. We are looking into the possibility of a second bone marrow but we need donors. If we find an unrelated donor they will do a stem cell transplant. The cells will be taken out of the arm instead of the back where the bone marrow is located. No anesthesia is required and it is almost like a blood transfusion but they utilize both arms. One arm to take out cells the other arm to put back what they don’t need. If you are unable to attend the event you can get your kit mailed to you by clicking the following link. http://join.bethematch.org/swabforbryan. The money raised will help us for travel expenses, medical expenses, or anything Bryan needs. Unfortunately Bryan has a long road to recovery.  Many people have asked us to set up a go fund account because it is easier for them to donate money.   We appreciate any donations. Please continue praying for Bryan. If your a match you could save my sons life or someone else. Today for us tomorrow for you. Thanks, in advance for your prayers of support, and generosity.❤️