BIOGRAPHY

Calen was born in Cairns on January 11th, 1995.  He was 6lb5oz and healthy as a newborn.    He had an intolerance to my breastmilk and by 5 months had to be changed over to formula.   At 8 months he was diagnosed with mild asthma but was a generally well and happy baby, winning people over with his gorgeous dark eyes and cheeky grin.
At age six, Calen had been in and out of the hospital emergency ward numerous times due to asthma attacks and by May 2001, we had a referral for a specialist at our local hospital.  He was now considered a chronic asthmatic.  Later that year, Calen began collapsing at various times,
particularly at school.  I took him to different doctors looking for a answer and they always attributed it to his asthma. Finally in the last week of school 2001, his teacher called me to tell me he had again collapsed and seemed to be fast asleep and to collect him when I could.  At home, I found him unresponsive and refusing to take anything including water.  Our
GP's locum knew something was wrong and asked me to return the following
morning depending on how Calen was.
Upon our return at 8:30am Dec 6, we were sent straight to the hospital for a full day of tests.  The doctor suspected Glandular Fever, but at 6pm we were told that Calen had a large tumour on his right kidney and immediately transferred to Royal Childrens Hospital in Brisbane by ambulance. Six days later after a biopsy the diagnosis was Adreno Cortical Carcinoma. His right adrenal gland was now a 725g tumour which was removed during a 7 hour
surgery on Dec 17, 2001. Complications meant further surgeries were performed throughout 2002 and 2004. To date, Calen has had a liver resection, right kidney removed and 3 nodules removed from his lungs and a total of 9 surgical procedures.
Chemotherapy was considered but dismissed due to a very slight chance of success.  For now he has been clear for over 12 months after taking on a strict diet without sugar, wheat, dairy products, additives and preservatives. He is still the same cheeky boy and doing well at school
where he is a year ahead of his age group.
At this point we are told Calen is the only child with this cancer in Australia and no children have yet survived long term so for now we are just enjoying our time together and hoping it will be a long time.
Thanks,
Carmen ~ Calen’s mum

www.caringbridge.org/oceania/calenjohnson