NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Cancer is a harsh reality, no matter what age a diagnosis is given. It can be hard to explain why the cancer is happening, especially when it’s happening to a baby.
AJ and Alison Lara are living that reality. Their baby girl, Peyton, has Infant Leukemia.
“I think both our hearts just dropped at that moment that we heard that word [cancer],” Alison said.
In Peyton’s case, she was diagnosed at seven months old. Peyton specifically has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
According to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Infant ALL occurs in children under the age of one and only affects about 90 infants a year in the United States.
“In infants, it’s more aggressive. The chances of relapse are higher. The prognosis is poor, and it’s just tougher on their little bodies to deal with the treatment and the chemo and everything,” said Alison.
Peyton was born on June 27, 2023. Her parents say she was a normal baby until they noticed dark circles forming under her eyes. At first, they assumed she accidentally crawled into something. They took her to the doctor to get checked out, and the doctor wanted to run a CT Scan and blood tests to rule out any issues inside her.
The Lara’s never thought a cancer diagnosis would come from the blood test.
“I think both our hearts just dropped at that moment that we heard that word. It didn’t feel real. Our bodies went numb,” Alison said.
Alison, a Registered Nurse, explained Peyton has a gene rearrangement called KMT2A. This makes Peyton more prone to developing leukemia.
“It just kind of feels like an act of terrorism on your personal life,” AJ said.
Treatment for Peyton is like most cancers; it involves chemotherapy.
Peyron has to do one year of frontline chemotherapy, which can be a harsh treatment process. This can be especially difficult for the Lara’s since Peyton is too young to understand what is happening.
“You can’t explain why you’re being held down, why you’re getting these tough chemo, why you don’t feel good,” Alison said.
“As a parent, it’s really hard to see your child in pain,” said AJ.
After a year of frontline treatment, Peyton can enter a year of maintenance treatment. This is easier than the first round of treatment. It only involves Peyton taking a daily pill and having routine visits to the doctor rather than spending days at the hospital.
“The goal is for her to make it to five. Once they hit five, I believe they’re technically considered a survivor,” Alison said.
Peyton’s treatment is happening at Christus Children’s Hospital. She was first taken there when she received her cancer diagnosis. The Lara’s have spent countless days as in-patient residents. Their longest stay in the hospital was 45 days.
“We don’t take her for a walk in the park. We take her for a walk in the hallway,” said Alison.
Due to their daughter’s extensive treatment, the Lara’s have grown close with the Christus staff and think of them as a family now.
“They have held my hand. They’ve cried with me, they’ve hugged me. They’ve advocated for pain. They played with her. They’ve watched her. They really are like family,” Alison said.
The Lara’s continue to fight for their daughter, and now they’re hoping other people will pay attention to Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September.
“I never really took the time to research it, and now living this, you know, you really see how much it means just to have other people understand what you’re going through and what it’s about,” said AJ.
The ribbon for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is gold.
Foundations like Big Love Cancer Care, Pinky Swear, and St. Jude are just some of the organizations dedicated to helping families whose children have cancer. Donations to foundations like these not only fund childhood cancer research but also help families through the process.
“Those donations mean more than I think people realize,” Alison said.
There are many ways you can help spread awareness this month:
- Donate to childhood cancer foundations
- Wear the gold ribbon
- Talk about ways to help others
- Do your research
- Donate blood
“Peyton just received blood, and I looked at the bag, and it said volunteer donor,” Alison said.
The blood came from a person who donated to the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. Blood donations are always in high need for STBTC. You can learn how you can donate and help by clicking here.
“Peyton got somebody’s blood that was donated, and without that, she wouldn’t be able to survive,” Alison said.
Peyton’s journey is just beginning. She has experienced so much at such a young age. Her parents say they will always admire their daughter and be inspired by her.
“I just want to let Peyton know just how much that we love her,” AJ said. “We have nothing but the biggest dreams for her. When she gets through this and can go on and lead more of a normal life, she’s going to grow up and do big things.”
“I can’t wait to, when she gets older, tell her how strong she was, how brave she was, how just watching her go through this has been so inspiring,” Alison continued, “There’s always a saying that most people will never get to meet their hero, but I gave birth to mine.”