Join Orion Nelson's Journey to Overcome Cancer

Orion Nelson is battling stage 4 Osteosarcoma.

On 12/2/24, Orion went to the Emergency Room with what he thought was a torn meniscus. After doing X-rays, a CT scan, and an MRI he left with a diagnosis of Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Since December 2nd, Orion, his family, and I have been fighting to get him the treatment he so urgently needs.

On 12/19/24, we had an appointment at Stanford with a specialist who performed a biopsy to determine what stage Orion's cancer was at. While there, Orion underwent several more specialized MRIs, PET scans, and CT scans.

On 12/20/24, Orion was diagnosed with stage 4A osteosarcoma, meaning it has metastasized to his lungs.

From 12/31/24 to 1/3/25, Orion was admitted to Stanford's cancer center to begin his first round of chemotherapy. While he was there, the doctors were also able to fit him with a port, which will ultimately make his treatment much easier.

Orion, his dad, and I arrived back home on 1/4/25. However, this was short-lived, as Orion experienced neutropenia, which led to us being admitted to Providence St. Joseph's ER on 1/9/25. There, he was diagnosed with simple sepsis alongside his neutropenia and transferred to the ICU, where we stayed until 1/13/25.

On 1/21/25 Orion started his second round of chemotherapy. So far so good!

He is already scheduled for a third round of chemotherapy, beginning 2/11/25. He also has another PET scan and MRI scheduled for later in February to assess how well the treatment is working and to determine if he is eligible for surgery to remove the main tumor from his femur. The doctors are currently predicting that this surgery may take place in March.

Orion is a loving son, brother, friend, and fiancé. He has worked as a cook at Six Rivers Brewery for the past six years and is an active member of the community.