Elgin family heals from cancer scare in 4-year-old
Angela Carlson hesitates to say her family has been lucky, because it’s only luck in the context of a nightmare.
Doctors discovered a tumor in Carlson’s son Matthew’s chest in January. The only reason they found it was because of a CT scan following a tonsillectomy that left Matthew, 4, with more than a week of terrible headaches. The headaches had nothing to do with the tumor, but they got him to the hospital and led doctors to the dangerous mass growing inside of him since birth.
Carlson was about to go out of town for work on the eighth day of Matthew’s headaches. He begged her not to go and she didn’t — a decision that may have saved his life.
“If I had gone on my trip, the headaches would have stopped two days later and this evil thing would have still been growing in his body,” Carlson said. “There are so many things that just worked.”
The tumor is called a ganglioneuroblastoma — a cancerous tumor encased in a benign tumor. The benign portion of the growth was effectively shielding the rest of his body from the cancer, inhibiting its spread.
Once doctors found the tumor, they immediately scheduled a surgery and the entire mass was removed Jan. 19. Chances of the cancer coming back are slim — only 5 percent.
Matthew went from a carefree boy with no symptoms of cancer to a child subjected to sedation and scary surgery to a cancer-free preschooler in three weeks.
“Which makes it sound easy,” Carlson said. “It was not easy.”
As the Elgin family heals emotionally to match Matthew’s physical recovery, they are raising money for the American Cancer Society’s Walk & Roll event, to be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 5, in Elgin’s Festival Park.
Carlson found out about the local event while looking for parent support groups and her family has turned into one of the top fundraising teams. Their goal is $10,000 and they’re about halfway there.
Besides individual donations from friends, family and local businesses, Elgin Academy students and teachers have been major supporters as the sophomore class takes on cancer as its spring project.
The team, Master Jedi Matthew’s Crew, will likely include dozens of people for the 5-mile walk, 10-mile roller blade/skate and 15-mile bike ride. There is no registration deadline for people interested in jumping into the race at the last minute.
The fundraising has been fairly cathartic for the Carlsons and their friends and family who so recently went through the trauma of fear and surgery then the rush of joy from Matthew’s success.
The little boy who used to have happy dreams is starting to get over the nightmares that have plagued him since his first hospital visit. Carlson quit her job to be a stay-at-home mom. Dad Todd and big brother Chris Pawelski are making adjustments at home to help Matthew get back on track even while he goes back for regular tests to confirm he is staying cancer-free.
“We feel very good with where he’s at and where we’re going, knowing the odds are good that it won’t come back,” Carlson said. “Seeing him emotionally heal is good for all of us.”
To follow the Carlsons’ fundraising effort for the American Cancer Society, find Master Jedi Matthew’s Crew on Facebook. For more about Matthew’s journey, visit the Matthew John Carlson page on caringbridge.org.