An Oregon family’s life changed drastically in a single day. On the day 4-year-old Jamon was diagnosed with cancer, his mother, Britney McRae, received the same diagnosis. Millions are now praying for their recovery.
The McRae family was living a normal life—Britney and Jake busy raising three young children—until one unexpected day last month turned everything upside down.
Jamon, their 4-year-old son, suddenly began having severe headaches. The family brought him to the hospital, where they soon faced the unimaginable.
“Our 4-year-old started complaining of headaches. I mean, they weren’t terrible. But they kind of ramped up for the next few days and became pretty bad,” father Jake McRae said.
After undergoing an MRI scan and multiple visits to the emergency room, a tumor was discovered near Jamon’s brainstem. The family was told it compressed critical structures in his head.
Mother and 4-year-old son diagnosed with cancer on the same day
Doctors at Stanford performed a 15-hour operation to remove most of the tumor. The pathology report then showed Jamon needed a second major surgery, to be followed by radiation and chemotherapy.
“Initially, they were thinking it was a benign one, and the pathology came back on the 5th, saying it was cancer, an aggressive malignant type of brain tumor,” the father said.
Tragically, the day Jamon was diagnosed with cancer, his mother, Britney, was too.
“The exact same day that we met with or established with oncology for my 4-year-old, she established oncology with her oncologist, like the appointments were an hour apart,” Jake said.
Britney has started chemotherapy, and a GoFundMe page was set up to help the family financially. It was set up by Britney’s siblings.
“Their home is full of love, laughter, and the kind of joyful chaos that comes with three little ones. Right now, they’re facing the unimaginable — a mother and son beginning their fight against cancer,” the page read.
New update
As of November 20, it has raised more than $70,000. On November 18, the latest update on how Jamon and Britany are doing was posted on the GoFundMe page.
“Last night, Jamon came out of his second major surgery. He woke up feeling understandably grumpy and uncomfortable, and he’s dealing with some post-operative complications that his doctors are carefully monitoring. The doctors believe these symptoms are most likely due to irritated nerves from surgery, which has been a point of hope for everyone as we wait for more information,” the message read.
It continued, “Britney also began her chemotherapy yesterday. It was a slow and difficult start after three blown veins during IV attempts — all while worrying about her little guy in surgery.”
“Their story was featured on the local news yesterday as well, and we’re grateful for the continued support and awareness it has brought. Thank you again for surrounding them with so much love. Your prayers and messages continue to give them strength during an unimaginably hard time. We cannot thank you enough!”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the McRae family in this very difficult time.
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