Camden's Story
Camden James Soucy is a very brave and loving now 11 year old boy that has faced a very courageous battle against cancer starting in May of 2013. He enjoys playing soccer, baseball and hockey. His favorite teams are the Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, and most importantly UCONN Men's Ice Hockey. However, to be honest...Camden really really really loves soccer. Camden enjoys being a big brother to his little sister, Emma. Camden's personality can light up a room and he can easily bring a smile to your face. He missed all of kindergarten, but it has been exciting to see him attend 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade with all of his friends. Fast forward...it is exciting to now see him preparing to enter 6th grade. Camden will be attending middle school, which was a hope and a prayer at the time of diagnosis. During treatment, Camden was known to have a fantastic imagination which involved superheroes like Spiderman, Batman and Robin. His favorite fiction hero switched back and forth from Spiderman and Batman, however if you ask him who his "real" favorite hero is, he will tell you Jesus! Now, Camden pours all of his energy into sports. He is on a soccer team, a baseball team, is a proud part of the UCONN hockey team, and he loves throwing a football around. He plays flag football it the winter and attends golf camp every summer. Camden has an amazing support system. At points throughout his journey, we have reached prayer warriors in all 50 states and over 26 countries His mother, Jessica, and his father, Ron, are Camden's everyday superheroes and are the apples of his eye. They are by Camden's side every step and in every aspect of his life. Please continue reading if you would like to become one of Camden's superheroes as well...
Camden was born May 22, 2008 at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT. On Easter morning, March 31st, 2013, at just four years old, Camden started to complain of left leg pain, which was easily managed by his parents with Children's Motrin. Their first suspicion was growing pains, but with his mom working in the medical field, the unilateral presentation concerned them. Camden's PCP diagnosed him with Toxic Synovitis, a temporary inflammation, which can take a few weeks to subside. Unfortunately, the pain intensified and traveled from his lower leg to his upper leg and he began limping. Jess and Ron continued their quest for answers and visited the emergency department at Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC). While all x-rays on the left leg were negative, his blood work was positive for inflammation. They tracked his blood work with many trips to Quest Diagnostics and the inflammation markers were consistently elevated. Appointments were made for both orthopedics and rheumatology.
By mid-April, it had been determined that Camden's leg pain and limping was the result of Ankylosing Spondylitis (arthritis.) This diagnosis was due to the identification of a positive heredity gene (HLA-B27.) However, sideline suspicions still lurked for Lyme Disease or other Tick Born Diseases. Several anti-inflammatory medications and a steroid were trialed to his treat pain and resolve his limp, all with no success. Camden's parents were relentless in attempting to ease his pain and he was seen by both naturopathic and osteopathic doctors. Camden's pain continued to escalate, his limp worsening and on May 7, when the pain was so excruciating, he was urgently brought back to CCMC. At that point, Jess and Ron were under the impression that they were in search of finding the right anti-inflammatory and steroid combination to treat the associated symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis. Camden was admitted to CCMC for pain control and there they conducted repeat hip x-rays and ultrasounds, only this time they revealed the most unimaginable results. Camden had a mass the size of an orange that had grown within his right adrenal gland. Further testing revealed that the mass was metastatic and had spread to both hips, both upper legs, his spine bones, left shoulder, the back of his skull, his lymphnodes and had accounted for 98% of his bone marrow. Camden's specific diagnosis is Stage 4 Neuroblastoma with Metastasis. (For more about Neuroblastoma click here).
Camden and his family had to face the reality that there were no options other than to aggressively treat this widespread cancer with chemotherapy, surgery for the tumor removal, a bone marrow transplant, radiation therapy and intensive antibody therapy for a minimum of 13 months. His treatment was primarily be done at CCMC, but Camden did travel to Boston Children's Hospital for his tumor resection and the bone marrow transplant. As his mother said, "In the seconds it took for the doctor to say 'We found a metastatic mass,' our whole life crashed from beneath us." In that first week since his diagnosis, they said that they had gone through the painful denial stage and then the acceptance stage, but had to quickly transition into the Battle Stage, ready to assist and support Camden through this process, accepting no less than 100% recovery after treatment. They had put their lives on hold to be with their son around the clock at CCMC, because just like they are the apples of his eye, Camden and his sister are the apples of theirs.
Camden finished his frontline treatment in June of 2014. Upon completion of this treatment, Camden's body scans had been clear for 6 months and his bone marrow biopsies clear for 3 months. Treatment was much more difficult than one could ever imagine. We continue to pray and have hope that Camden's scans will ALWAYS be clear. Following frontline treatment, Camden completed 27 cycles (2 years) of maintenance medications at home (6 pills a day). Repeat scans were every 3 months and continued to be this way for the next 2 years. He had blood work and urine testing every month. After 2 years being off maintenance, Camden's scans then switched to MRI/Cat Scans every 6 months. We worked and continue to work diligently on restoring Camden's body back to health (removing toxins, boosting his immune system). To date, Camden's labs in all areas have been AMAZING and PERFECT!
In August of 2018, on routine imaging, an MRI found a "lesion" on Camden's S2 (sacral vertebrae AKA pelvis). Initially, it was believed to be old scarring from his prior cancer. The "spot" did not change much over time and we began to monitor it every 3 months with an MRI. In April of 2019, Cam's oncologist thought for peace of mind, we should do a PET scan to determine the exact etiology of this "spot." Much to our dismay, the PET scan revealed positive results, which did not deliver any peace of mind at all. The next steps were determined to be a biopsy, which also was not an easy task. In fact, it was considered very risky and dangerous due to the close proximity of the spinal nerves *which control motor function of his legs and his bladder/bowel function. The biopsy revealed a benign tumor, which will require surgical removal. In between scans, appointments, bloodwork and everything else Camden lives his life to the fullest, believing that God will continue to see him through the rest of this journey, allowing him to have a long, healthy life…where he can too grow old with a family of his own.
Camden was born May 22, 2008 at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT. On Easter morning, March 31st, 2013, at just four years old, Camden started to complain of left leg pain, which was easily managed by his parents with Children's Motrin. Their first suspicion was growing pains, but with his mom working in the medical field, the unilateral presentation concerned them. Camden's PCP diagnosed him with Toxic Synovitis, a temporary inflammation, which can take a few weeks to subside. Unfortunately, the pain intensified and traveled from his lower leg to his upper leg and he began limping. Jess and Ron continued their quest for answers and visited the emergency department at Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC). While all x-rays on the left leg were negative, his blood work was positive for inflammation. They tracked his blood work with many trips to Quest Diagnostics and the inflammation markers were consistently elevated. Appointments were made for both orthopedics and rheumatology.
By mid-April, it had been determined that Camden's leg pain and limping was the result of Ankylosing Spondylitis (arthritis.) This diagnosis was due to the identification of a positive heredity gene (HLA-B27.) However, sideline suspicions still lurked for Lyme Disease or other Tick Born Diseases. Several anti-inflammatory medications and a steroid were trialed to his treat pain and resolve his limp, all with no success. Camden's parents were relentless in attempting to ease his pain and he was seen by both naturopathic and osteopathic doctors. Camden's pain continued to escalate, his limp worsening and on May 7, when the pain was so excruciating, he was urgently brought back to CCMC. At that point, Jess and Ron were under the impression that they were in search of finding the right anti-inflammatory and steroid combination to treat the associated symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis. Camden was admitted to CCMC for pain control and there they conducted repeat hip x-rays and ultrasounds, only this time they revealed the most unimaginable results. Camden had a mass the size of an orange that had grown within his right adrenal gland. Further testing revealed that the mass was metastatic and had spread to both hips, both upper legs, his spine bones, left shoulder, the back of his skull, his lymphnodes and had accounted for 98% of his bone marrow. Camden's specific diagnosis is Stage 4 Neuroblastoma with Metastasis. (For more about Neuroblastoma click here).
Camden and his family had to face the reality that there were no options other than to aggressively treat this widespread cancer with chemotherapy, surgery for the tumor removal, a bone marrow transplant, radiation therapy and intensive antibody therapy for a minimum of 13 months. His treatment was primarily be done at CCMC, but Camden did travel to Boston Children's Hospital for his tumor resection and the bone marrow transplant. As his mother said, "In the seconds it took for the doctor to say 'We found a metastatic mass,' our whole life crashed from beneath us." In that first week since his diagnosis, they said that they had gone through the painful denial stage and then the acceptance stage, but had to quickly transition into the Battle Stage, ready to assist and support Camden through this process, accepting no less than 100% recovery after treatment. They had put their lives on hold to be with their son around the clock at CCMC, because just like they are the apples of his eye, Camden and his sister are the apples of theirs.
Camden finished his frontline treatment in June of 2014. Upon completion of this treatment, Camden's body scans had been clear for 6 months and his bone marrow biopsies clear for 3 months. Treatment was much more difficult than one could ever imagine. We continue to pray and have hope that Camden's scans will ALWAYS be clear. Following frontline treatment, Camden completed 27 cycles (2 years) of maintenance medications at home (6 pills a day). Repeat scans were every 3 months and continued to be this way for the next 2 years. He had blood work and urine testing every month. After 2 years being off maintenance, Camden's scans then switched to MRI/Cat Scans every 6 months. We worked and continue to work diligently on restoring Camden's body back to health (removing toxins, boosting his immune system). To date, Camden's labs in all areas have been AMAZING and PERFECT!
In August of 2018, on routine imaging, an MRI found a "lesion" on Camden's S2 (sacral vertebrae AKA pelvis). Initially, it was believed to be old scarring from his prior cancer. The "spot" did not change much over time and we began to monitor it every 3 months with an MRI. In April of 2019, Cam's oncologist thought for peace of mind, we should do a PET scan to determine the exact etiology of this "spot." Much to our dismay, the PET scan revealed positive results, which did not deliver any peace of mind at all. The next steps were determined to be a biopsy, which also was not an easy task. In fact, it was considered very risky and dangerous due to the close proximity of the spinal nerves *which control motor function of his legs and his bladder/bowel function. The biopsy revealed a benign tumor, which will require surgical removal. In between scans, appointments, bloodwork and everything else Camden lives his life to the fullest, believing that God will continue to see him through the rest of this journey, allowing him to have a long, healthy life…where he can too grow old with a family of his own.
If you wish to make a donation to Camden's Crusade to assist with the cost of his treatment
and to help his parents continue to be by his side, please click here:
and to help his parents continue to be by his side, please click here:
A Message from Camden's Parents
May 2014: We ask that you pray with us, that this little 5-year old boy can keep up with the treatment plan, that the treatment plan defeats the cancer cells and that the mind-boggling side effects from the intense medications do not interfere with his treatment. Please pray for us to have strength during this process. Thank you.
Jessica (Talamini) & Ronald Soucy
Jessica (Talamini) & Ronald Soucy
