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CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
‘It's hard to live with, but you can try to have fun': How a boy and his family got through cancer
Morgan Shannon's cancer journey can be told through the stuffed animals on his bed. When he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at two years old, he only had a few. Now, 10 years old and cancer-free, he has a mountain of them: gifts from the friends, family, and medical staff that saw him through a time of crisis. 'It's not just it's not just a disease that affects the body, it affects every aspect of you and your relationships and your family,' said Jackie Rosenhek, his mother. Rosenhek said they started noticing signs something was wrong when Morgan was two. He was lethargic and clingy; he didn't want to eat, but his stomach was rapidly expanding. They took him to the ER at the Montreal Children's Hospital, and hours later, he was undergoing emergency radiation. 'It was really shocking because we knew something wasn't right, but we never thought it was a life-threatening illness,' she said. Morgan was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer that spread into his abdomen, bones and the base of his skull. Dr. Jitka Stankova, a pediatric oncologist, said that to shrink his aggressive tumours, he was given emergency radiation, something rarely done on a patient so young. 'We don't like in children to use radiation too much... because they are growing and it has more late effects,' she said. Morgan's two-year treatment also included chemotherapy, surgery, stem cell transplants and immunotherapy, requiring many stays at the children's hospital. While Morgan was too young to remember that time, Rosenkhek said she and her husband Grant Shannon had to deal with the trauma of seeing their child go through cancer treatment. 'There is a lot of screaming to the universe in private, and in public it was, 'Everything is fine,'' she said. 'I really had to block everything out and act like everything was normal.' Morgan Shannon Morgan Shannon was first diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at age two. (photo: Jackie Rosenhek) Although life wasn't normal, Rosenhek said the programs offered through the Montreal Children's Foundation made it easier during his stay, giving him outlets to have fun, including a tricycle to ride around the playroom. 'I'd go really fast, and the nurses would make me a speeding ticket,' said Morgan. 'I still have one, and that I still haven't paid since 2020.' He keeps a copy of the ticket in an album full of keepsakes from that time, including cards from the staff who cared for him. Stankova said while her work is vital in curing the cancer, donations given to the foundation offer the physical, social and financial support that families need to get through the crisis. 'We say that it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to take care of the oncology patient,' she said. Morgan is now five years cancer-free, and while he's living with permanent hearing loss and needs checkups, Rosenhek said their focus is now on the future. Morgan is now five years cancer-free Morgan is now five years cancer-free. 'He's just thriving and growing and living his life, and so we're going with that!' she said. Meanwhile, Morgan has some advice for other kids who may be given a cancer diagnosis. 'It's hard to live with it, but you can still try to have fun,' he said. Radiothon The 22nd edition of the Caring for Kids Radiothon will be held on August 21, 2025, and broadcast on Bell Media radio stations CJAD 800, 95.9 Virgin Radio and CHOM 97.7. The Caring for Kids Radiothon has raised over $29 million for the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation since its inception in 2004. Donate here.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Teen gets first-of-its-kind kidney transplant thanks to late uncle
For 14-year-old Mario Futia, life was never normal — until a first-of-its-kind kidney transplant from his late uncle gave him a second chance. 'It was difficult, in one way, because you have to somewhat pray for someone to pass to give something to you,' Futia said in a recent interview. 'But on the other hand, it was a bittersweet feeling, because at least some part, at the end of the surgery, will be part of you afterwards.' In December, Futia's uncle suffered a heart attack and slipped into a coma. His son, Alexandre Rainone, Futia's cousin, decided to donate his father's kidney to the teen, so doctors kept the man on life support until the transplant took place in January. 'It was very hard, because now I'm in between my father's death and saving my cousin's life,' Rainone said. The LaSalle teen has been a patient at the Montreal Children's Hospital since he was born with kidney failure. He received his first transplant at just two years old, but his body rejected it, and he developed antibodies against all kidney donors in Canada. So, for the past 12 years, Futia has been on dialysis three times a week, four to five hours at a time, whether it's a school day, weekend, or holiday. He said it took a toll. Dr. Mallory Downie, a pediatric nephrologist at the hospital, explained that once doctors became aware of a potential donor match, one his body was less likely to reject, they developed a new desensitization protocol for him. 'Which means we were able to decrease the antibodies he had towards that kidney and finally accept that kidney. We were able to transplant Mario with the first desensitized kidney transplant in Canada,' Downie said. Downie acknowledged there was a lot of uncertainty with this rare and exceptional case and that it required a leap of faith and trust in the system and experts in the field. 'We worked with experts from the United States, our colleagues here at McGill University Health Centre, and relied on many, many experts to guide us in how to do this,' she added. Futia's dad, Giuseppe, said that he was thankful for his son's second chance at living a normal life. Although the teen will have to go back to the hospital for regular checkups, it's nothing compared to the burden of dialysis. '[This transplant is] a second attempt for a new lease on life,' the teen said. With files from Swidda Rassy
