Eight year old ends three year battle with Cancer

When Brandon Assoun was five years old he was outside bouncing on his trampoline with his older brother and sister when his life changed. Brandon’s eyes turned red, then they shut and he couldn’t open them. His mother was panicked and immediately took him to see a doctor.

At first, his eye doctor suspected he had an allergy, which was quickly ruled out because his reaction was too severe. His doctor ran many tests and even tried freezing his eyes and opening them herself—it was as if they were cemented shut. He was then transferred to the Pediatrics Unit at the Regional Hospital. Brandon’s mom, Leanne, was terrified he would lose his sight forever.

Before this, Brandon was healthy and very active. It wasn’t until six days after his eyes first closed that he started to get a fever. His mom shares, “At this point, he was crying in pain because his eyes hurt so badly.”

Brandon was transferred to the IWK in Halifax, where they ran more tests. After determining he had almost no white blood cells, they tested his bone marrow. More than 80% of his bone marrow was taken over by leukemia.

Within hours, Brandon started chemotherapy treatment. After seven days of having his eyes shut, Brandon finally opened them.

Brandon’s mom shares that traveling to Halifax for treatment was very hard on their family: “We even had to miss grading day for our two other children.” After this, Brandon was able to receive a significant portion of his care at home, thanks to the Cape Breton Cancer Centre and the Pediatrics Unit at the Regional Hospital, which is able to treat children with cancer.

Brandon has been receiving chemotherapy for three years. And, once a month, he has to be hooked up to an IV. While this journey has been a struggle for the Assoun family, they are grateful for the care Brandon received from Dr. Andrew Lynk and a very special nurse in the Pediatrics Unit at the Regional Hospital, Judi Gouthro.

In August, 2010, Brandon finished his cancer treatments. Today, Brandon is healthy and active—his family couldn’t be happier.