Peyton Murphy's Fifth Cancer Battle

Peyton was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer) back in 2017. With a huge tumor in his right femur (thigh bone). St. Jude’s children’s research hospital in Memphis was able to successfully remove it when they performed a limb-sparing surgery on him. Along with 20 rounds of chemo sessions starting in March 2017 and ending in November 2017.

Peyton was in remission for a year. At the end of 2018, upon returning to St. Jude’s for mandatory pet scans, we learned that the disease had returned, but had metastasized to his lungs. Several more small tumors in his lungs were discovered. The doctors were confident that with laparoscopic surgery, along with more chemo, they could remove these as well. After several lung surgeries (4 more), the doctors felt like they were playing “whack-a-mole” so that another surgery would no longer be an option. They decided “new trial” chemo options would be Peyton’s best bet at remission. He took over the next few years trying to find the right one to rid his body of this disease. Fast forward to August 2022, while still on chemo, Peyton started having intense pain in his right leg again. Turns out the prosthetic that was installed in 2017 had slipped and was causing him grief. So he had to go back to Memphis to have another surgery to re-install another prosthetic. Well to have this surgery, they had to stop the chemo to let Peyton’s body be able to recoup from the surgery. Meanwhile, those tumors kept growing in his lungs. So at the end of October, the doctors put him back on chemo. They scanned him again at the end of November, only to see those tumors still growing. The chemo failed again. His last chemo dose was December 8, 2022.

Peyton decided to spend the Christmas and New Year holiday chemo free. Just so he could get his body healthy enough again in January 2023 to get back on chemo to start another trial and battle this cancer. Since then, Peyton’s body has declined and is not healthy enough to endure any more chemo. So now we are starting a new holistic-spiritual treatment. We found a doctor in Lake Charles who will take him, but St. Jude’s does not cover this “non-invasive” treatment. We are not leaving St. Jude’s. But there’s nothing more they can do for Peyton until his body is strong enough to go back. Peyton is scheduled to go twice per week to this facility for treatment. But the costs that go along with it will get steep. Peyton’s faith is strong. All of our faith is strong in the Murphy household. We are confident in God’s will. We have a strong support system and know God will always provide where we need it most.