Chandler Tran, 8, was enjoying the Easter break when his parents noticed he started limping, spotting a lump no bigger than a pea on his shin. His father Cong Tran, 42, told Daily Mail Australia that they initially assumed their son had just fallen into something. “It was Good Friday and he had just finished looking after the holidays when he got home and we saw that he was limping a bit,” Mr Tran said. “We thought he must have hit his knee or his shin on something, but he told us nothing had happened. “It was just a small bump on his leg, like the size of a pea and I was digesting it. “I could feel it and it was pretty firm, but it wasn’t causing him much pain except when I squeezed it, so we thought we’d sleep on it and see if anything changed overnight.” A family have told of their shock when they discovered the “pea-sized” lump on their quirky eight-year-old son Chandler’s shin (pictured) was a rare form of deadly cancer Cong Tran’s father, 42, (standing) told Daily Mail Australia the family initially assumed their son had just tripped over something when they discovered the small piece The next morning Mr Tran said Chandler was still in pain and limping, so he was taken to Sydney’s Fairfield Hospital, where X-rays were taken. They gave Chandler pain medication and told him to go home and rest. The next day the family received a call from the doctors who advised them to go and get an MRI, which they did. The family then received a phone call from their GP who informed them that the CT scans looked like there was some form of bone damage and the results looked “suspicious and abnormal”. Mr Tran said he then took Chandler to Westmead Children’s Hospital the following Saturday – just over a week after they first found the lump. The family underwent a series of scans as well as a biopsy, before receiving the call every parent dreads in the first week of May.
WHAT IS OSTEOSARCOMA?
Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer that starts in bone-forming cells. It is most often found in the long bones, most commonly in the legs, but sometimes in the hands. On May 4, eight-year-old Chandler was diagnosed with osteosarcoma – a rare form of bone cancer. Scans also revealed cancerous tumors in his lungs. Mr Tran said it was a shock, especially for someone as young as Chandler, with the tumors found in his lungs the hardest pill to swallow. “It’s a pretty rare cancer, even more so because of its age and its demographics,” Mr Tran said. “The doctors told us it’s very rare in young non-Anglo-Saxon children and put him on a 29-week treatment programme. “They found the tumor in his leg, but they also found tumors in his lungs and that was the difficult thing to treat, because if it was just in his leg, it would have been easier to treat. “That was very hard to deal with because then we knew it had already progressed and it was very bad.” After multiple scans, doctors discovered Chandler had osteosarcoma in his leg – a rare form of bone cancer – as well as cancerous tumors in his lungs Chandler began chemotherapy and was placed on a limb salvage plan in an attempt to save his leg. “We went through 10 weeks of chemotherapy and at the end of July we were waiting for the operation to be scheduled [for his leg] but they had some logistical problems to line it up,” Mr. Tran said. “So while we were waiting, we did more scans and unfortunately, they showed that the lungs weren’t getting better. “Some tumors were getting bigger while others were stable and based on the results, the doctors recommended against surgery.” The family chose not to operate after realizing there was no point in causing young Chandler more pain and trauma without knowing if it would help. From there Mr Tran said Chandler’s leg began to deteriorate further. “By August his leg was getting progressively worse, to the point where the pain in his leg was so bad, he couldn’t bend it anymore,” he said. “He was still able to move, but it was very gentle movements and before that, he could stand somewhat, but at this point he couldn’t bend his leg without pain and ended up spending his birthday on August 23rd in hospital.” . Chandler began chemotherapy and was put on a limb salvage plan in an attempt to save his leg However, as treatment continued, Chandler’s leg got progressively worse and the family made the decision to amputate it to remove the cancer. Chandler was placed in a wheelchair due to leg pain while he continued chemotherapy. By September 26, Chandler was in “severe pain,” so the family ran more scans that revealed he had fractured his knee, near the site of the tumor. Mr. Tran said that over the next few days the pain became so bad, doctors decided they needed to operate on his leg, as none of the painkillers provided him with relief. He said the family was given the choice of limb salvage or amputation of his leg above the knee. “It got to the point if we did that [the limb salvage] we would have to remove most of his leg and there was no guarantee it would work and we thought the risk was too high,” Mr Tran said. “The other option was to amputate it above the knee, which we went with as it was a quick recovery time and guaranteed the cancerous tissue and tumor would be removed from his leg. “We explained everything to Chandler and he was very understanding and knew what it was all about. “In the two days before his amputation he was thinking about it and said he was fine with it. He was very good with it.’ Shortly before the surgery he asked his father to help him write a farewell message on his leg. She wrote: “My dear leg I’m going to miss you so much when you’re gone, I love Chandler,” with the photo taken on his dads tablet. He had the operation in early October and remained at Westmead Children’s Hospital to continue his chemotherapy. Before the amputation, Mr. Tran helped his son say goodbye to his leg. She wrote: “My dear leg I’ll miss you so much when you’re gone, I love Chandler,” with the photo taken on his tablet About a week after Chandler’s leg was amputated, scans showed his lungs had continued to deteriorate and the cancer had progressed with doctors telling the family there was nothing more they could do. However, about a week after the leg amputation scans showed his lungs had continued to deteriorate and the cancer had progressed. “There was fluid in his right lung and the size and number of tumors had increased all through mid-October,” Mr Tran said. “We had a meeting with the doctors and it was at that point that we all agreed that there was no reason to do any further treatment for the cancer as it had progressed too far into the lungs. “They told us there was nothing more they could do.” Mr Tran said that while the decision to stop treatment meant they knew the end was coming, it also meant Chandler would not have to suffer through more treatments. “More treatment would mean more chemotherapy and clinical trials, but ultimately all of that would cause more hospital time, pain and suffering and would be a very, very terrible outcome anyway,” Mr Tran said. “If he’s just going to prolong his suffering, we’d rather not make this boy suffer any more than he has for the past six months. “Rather than him suffering, knowing we’re going to lose him anyway, we’d rather keep him comfortable and spend time outside the hospital with him.” The family said that while the decision to stop treatment meant they knew the end was coming, it also meant young Chandler would not have to suffer through more treatments Mr Tran said the family had not seen their boy at home for more than three weeks in the past six months and at one point he spent 40 consecutive days in hospital. “The selfish approach would try to prolong his life, but without happiness and comfort for him, as he would be in all kinds of pain,” Mr Tran said. “That would be selfish and while it would be good for us to have more time, it would be a horrible, painful and miserable time in hospital for him, which he has already had for the last six months. “So we didn’t want to put him through any more of that and we want him to be comfortable, happy and at home.” Chandler, who loves school, had only managed to attend two and a half days in the past six months, spending almost all of his time at Westmead Children’s Hospital. “He’s lost so much in the last six months … he was very lonely in there [hospital]. “At the end of the day, there’s no place like home and it gives him more room to hang out and be a new boy.” Since returning home on November 4, Mr Tran said his boy was the happiest the family had ever seen him. Chandler returned home on November 4 and Mr Tran said: “His big smile is back and he’s the happiest we’ve seen him, we’re so happy he’s home.” “His big smile is back and he’s the happiest we’ve seen him, we’re so happy he’s home,” Mr Tran said. “He understands that his lungs are not good and he has seen other friends die of cancer. “But we haven’t told him that his time is limited, we’re not going to tell him because that will upset him, so we’ll keep it to the adults for now. “Some of his friends have done it, but they know not to tell him or bring it up.” However, the dire situation allowed the young Chandler to devote more time to his LEGO obsession, completing more than 30 sets since his diagnosis. His illness allowed the young Chandler to devote more time to his LEGO obsession, completing more than 30 sets since his diagnosis Mr Tran said while in hospital he completed the Icons Lion Knights’ Castle, a set of more than 4,500 pieces “That’s how he got into LEGOs while he was in treatment and that’s how we stacked the LEGOs and that’s how he spent his time in hospital,” Mr Tran said. “He has a very vivid imagination and has been building LEGOs since he was…
