A life lesson: one family, two cancers, one great fight for the future
Vananh Martinez and her 2-year-old son Alec have had to battle cancer
For the Martinez family, life changed after both Vananh and Alec were diagnosed with cancer.
Submitted photo / Times Newspapers
They say life can change in an instant. Perhaps no one knows this better than Tigard’s Stephen Martinez.
A few years ago, his life was taking a certain path: With a beautiful wife by his side and a healthy baby on the way, Stephen was enjoying a thriving career and a comfortable lifestyle. His worries were few, but his gratitude was great: Alexander, or Alec, was a “miracle baby” who reunited Stephen and his wife Vananh after a five-year separation. The family, now united and strong, was looking forward to what the future would bring.
Little did Stephen or anyone know, that future would bring advanced stage ovarian cancer for 38-year-old Vananh and ependymoma for 2½-year-old Alec. Out of such complex diseases comes one very simple math equation: One case of ovarian cancer for mom, one case of brain cancer for child, and one broken heart for husband and dad.
Stephen’s life has been shaken and his nerves are quivering, but his newfound passion for the cause is firm.
“We’ve got to find a cure,” he says. “Especially with children — they’re innocent. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, poor, rich, whatever. One thing that I’ve learned is that children are the greatest love. It’s just sad.”
After Vananh was diagnosed last April, she had a full hysterectomy. She had been losing weight, getting really tired and having a hard time lifting Alec.
One day — I remember the day; it was a Sunday — she goes, ‘I feel a little bump right here,’” says Stephen. “By this time, she’d been getting skinnier. We’d both been working and we built this house and we’d been under a lot of stress, doing the ‘me’ thing, taking care of our son. She went to the doctor that Monday to get an ultrasound, and they said there’s a mass.”
The following Wednesday, doctors informed her that the mass was a 13-by-5-centimeter tumor. She had surgery two days later, followed by 18 weeks of chemotherapy — six cycles every three weeks. She lost her hair and weight, but finally emerged on the other side of treatment.
“Then, life seemed to be getting better,” says Stephen. “This was around September and, as a celebration, we decided to take Alexander to Disney World. So, we go have this wonderful trip.”
They came back and about two weeks later, Stephen noticed Alec getting very irritable. On Nov. 9, while visiting Stephen’s sister, Alec bumped his head on a table corner. A few days later, he kept crying and repeating, “Head, head.” When he’d point to his head, however, he would point not to the side where it had been bumped, but the back. When Stephen watched him sleep, he’d notice Alec arching his back, tossing and turning. Fearing he had a concussion, they took Alec into the doctor.
The doctor said Alec looked fine, but the next day he seemed worse. He didn’t want to play or eat and kept repeating, “Hurt, hurt.”
This time, they went to the ER, where the doctors suspected spinal meningitis. The CT scan yielded even scarier results: Alec had a tumor in his brain.
At Emanuel Children’s Hospital, the family met renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Monica Wehby, who explained that the tumor had caused Alec’s brain to swell and block the fluid that drains to the spine. He would need surgery to release the pressure. At this point, removing the tumor in its entirety would have been too risky — doctors weren’t sure what they were up against, yet. Around 40 percent of the tumor was removed, and then the pathology results came in: ependymoma, a rare tumor that is diagnosed in between 100 and 200 children each year.
Another surgery followed, but still the entire tumor couldn’t be removed. The risk of debilitation was too great, so only another 10 percent was extricated. At this point, Dr. Wehby recommended that the family go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
On Dec. 14, the family flew out. Throughout the plane ride, Alec was in a great deal of pain and unable to sleep — in addition to being unable to walk or swallow. At the hospital, more scans and MRIs followed. A tumor board consulted on the case. Another renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Frederick Boop, became involved. A team of doctors tracked the tumor’s progress.
“This is where it gets really, really sad,” Stephen says, tears welling. “They said the tumor had grown back to its original size.”
Four doctors explained that the tumor was in the brain stem. They showed the scan — a tumor the size of a golf ball, wrapped around the artery that goes from the heart to the brain. They wanted to get Alec in for surgery right away.
Dr. Boop and his partner, Dr. Stanford, operated together on what was the biggest tumor they had ever seen.
Stephen had just completed a silent prayer when the doctors came in and let him know that they got it — the whole tumor this time.
“It was an absolute miracle,” Stephen says. “But he’s still debilitated.”
For Alec, the battle is only beginning. Alec’s left side was affected by both the tumor and a miniature stroke he suffered during one of the surgeries: Hearing and facial movement on his left side have been compromised.
Now he can’t walk, move his limbs or swallow.
Alec recently transferred from St. Jude’s to OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, where he remains in the ICU and is set to start chemotherapy soon.
The Benson Hotel, LAIKA, Semper Fashion, and photographer Christina Weber have teamed up to present “For Alec: A Fashion Benefit for Alexander Martinez” to coincide with Portland Fashion Week. Doors will open at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28 at the Mayfair Ballroom at the Benson Hotel. Music will precede the show, which starts at 9 p.m. Cost is $15 at the door, plus food and drinks. Proceeds will go to the Martinez family to help with medical and living expenses.
You can read more about the family’s journey at www.caringbridge.org/visit/alexandermartinez .