5-year-old Washington boy is only one of two reported cases of rare lung cancer in the country

WASHINGTON, Iowa (KCRG) - Westyn Fisher is a typical five-year-old boy who likes coloring and playing Mario Kart with his brother. But what sets him apart from other children his age is his rare cancer diagnosis.

“They didn’t have a name for it, the University has never seen whatever it is he has,” said Westyn’s mom Tessa.

It started with a tumor on his lung when he was only two.

Doctors took most of it out, Westyn went through chemo, and was in remission for a year.

“Almost one year to the day that he was cancer-free, we found out that it recurred,” said Tessa.

So, Westyn beat the cancer again, and now he gets monthly scans to monitor his lungs.

His oncologist, Dr. William Terry with UIHC says they’re still looking for answers.

“One of the nice things about modern medicine is that when we don’t have answers, we can reach out and try to do even more diving and research labs and things like that. His tumor is still out in different labs trying to get even better answers,” said Dr. Terry.

Tessa’s concern is if the tumor comes back, and he has to go through chemo again. At just five years old, the process can be especially exhausting. Doctors have told Tessa there’s only so many times his body can withstand this.

“Once that’s up, we need other options and his cancer being so rare, we don’t know what those other options are,” said Tessa.

With a pandemic, she is constantly worried about his health and safety. That’s why she’s looking all over to see if someone else can help with answers.

“I wanted to get his story out there to find someone else who has heard of this before, similar symptoms,” she siad. “Anything we can to try and help pinpoint what it is he has.”

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