A rare cancer diagnosis has rocked the Geanokopoulos family but it has also united friends, family and the Benoni community. Layton is drawing strength from the support coming his way.
Benoni, South Africa (14 September 2022) – Layton Geanokopoulos received a shocking stage 4 cancer diagnosis at the young age of just 16 years old, just one week ago. His family has rallied around him, surrounding him in hope, love and support, just a few of the things he will need to take on this big battle.
Three weeks ago, Layton was a hopeful young man with a bright future ahead of him but that all came crashing down when a chance ultrasound on his knee flagged something. It was a growth and he was then sent to see an orthopaedic surgeon. After an MRI, his doctors realised something was very wrong. Layton and his mom Michele were sent to meet with an oncologist at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre.
It was here that the family got Layton’s shocking cancer diagnosis. He has been diagnosed with a stage 4 Ewings Sarcoma. There are serval tumours present in his body and while the prognosis is terrifying, the family has come together to fight alongside Layton, every step of the way!
“A 14cm tumour in the left leg. 4cm tumour in the right lung. Both lungs have plenty of spots—a Tumour in the liver and 2 tumours in the stomach lining. We are devastated. We have a lot of love and support from many people around the world.” – Michele Geanokopoulos
Doctors said if they didn’t fight the cancer and soon, Layton’s survival rate was low, but with an aggressive chemotherapy schedule and following surgeries, he stands a 40% chance to beat his cancer. That was a chance he is willing to take. Layton started chemo on the 12th of September and will spend the full week in hospital so he can have the best access to support during his treatment.
“So we are blessed. Layton will start with hectic chemotherapy on Monday, 12th September 2022. It will be 1st week, 5 days in the hospital, 2nd-week just check-up 3rd week 7 days in the hospital and 4th-week check-up. This will be continuing for 4 1/2 months. They will then check if the tumours have shrunk and do all the tests to see how his body has reacted to the therapy. Then surgery will begin. He will need 18 hours to 22 hours of leg operation with a bone transplant.
Cutting the tibia bone out of the right leg and placing it in the left leg as the phobia bone needs to be removed. After that, he will need rehab to learn how to walk again. After that, operations take out the lung, stomach and liver tumours. Chemotherapy will then continue with radiation. Please pray for my boy.”
Thankfully, Michele’s employer had made sure all the staff were on good medical aids. Her medical aid is set to cover the bulk of Layton’s expenses which is a huge relief. Not only that, but Michele’s employer has given her the time off needed to be there with Layton – having faced a cancer loss of his very own.
This support has been instrumental in the weeks since the diagnosis. Now Michele’s beloved friends are hoping to help a little more. They are campaigning to cover any of the costs that fall outside of the medical aid coverage by raising the funds through BackaBuddy.
The hope is to make sure that Michele can focus on Layton 100% while they focus on the rest. The funds will go towards his recovery, rehabilitation and ad-hoc bills that pop up during the next 4 months of treatment.
What moved us was that several of Michele’s friends reached out to ask for help sharing her and Layton’s story and they each commented on what a kindhearted and loving friend she is.
If you would like to support Layton’s recovery fund, you can do so via BackaBuddy here.
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