Bo Cooper and his family received the excellent news last week the young firefighter is in remission as he battles acute lymphoblastic leukemia for a third time.
“Obviously they’re very happy, very excited, that they’re in the place that they are, that the second treatment was successful compared to the first one and the complications with that one. Physically, Bo still gets tired and still has some pain but he’s getting stronger every day and obviously this is a great boost to know that his health is on the way to recovery,” said Rob Van Hecke, a friend of the family who worked as a firefighter with Bo and his dad.
There is still less than 0.01 per cent leukemia in Cooper’s system, which means that while his doctors can officially declare he is in remission the cancer is not gone. There are also still some Car T cells that are working in Cooper’s bloodstream to combat the cancer.
“The doctors are going to monitor that, he does have some more bone marrow work to do in a couple of weeks and at that point they’re hoping (the cancer) will be completely eradicated. The number is so small that they do still consider it to be remission which is why we’ve been able to use that word,” said Van Hecke.
So, while the entire Cooper family is feeling happiness and excitement there is a sense of the tentativeness of the recovery until the cancer is completely eradicated. After that point Bo Cooper will potentially undergo a second bone marrow transplant.
He had received one transplant following the second time he beat leukemia but that didn’t prevent the return of the cancer. The bone marrow transplants are intended to be a way to “wipe the slate clean” according to Van Hecke.
“There’s still a long way to go,” he said. “This is obviously an excellent first major step on the road to recovery and being able to be in remission but it’s the work that still needs to happen.”
Knowing that Cooper has been in remission twice before and beaten leukemia twice before makes any celebration for the family now a hesitant one. Things that would normally signal the end of the battle don’t feel that way any more because they have been there before and still Cooper had a third diagnosis.
“We all know that this is the last viable option that we know of that’s out there beyond the chemo so it comes with some cautious optimism, but obviously a lot of hope and some degree of excitement as well,” said Van Hecke.
The treatment Cooper received is an experimental therapy being done at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda Maryland. Seeking the treatment from the United States is expensive and while Cooper was accepted into the trial, which does mean some parts of the treatment were funded, the costs of getting there and having his family stay close-by would have been a burden on the family were it not for the extensive fundraising efforts of the community in Fort McMurray.
Nearly $1 million has been raised to support Cooper’s fight against cancer and the family has said any money unused for his treatment will be set up in a fund to pay forward the generosity of the community to someone in the same challenging circumstances in the future.
The family is also hoping to continue advocacy for bone marrow transplants, something they started the first time Cooper was a recipient.
“Matches are tough to find,” said Van Hecke. “Bo’s been actually quite, quite lucky with getting some matches but definitely we’ve advocated in the past for people to see if they are viable to donate for anybody else out there who needs help. We strongly encourage that and hope that people will take that step. Much like donating blood this becomes a little bit more important in a different fashion.”
The date hasn’t been set for when Cooper and his family will return to Fort McMurray. That will depend on tests and his recovery. The hope is to return in early May. Van Hecke said Cooper has an appointment in three weeks’ time for a follow-up but will likely still go home before returning to Maryland for that appointment.
In the meantime the family has again expressed its gratitude to the entire community for their ongoing, unfailing support for Cooper.
