Barretstown is here for families throughout their cancer and other serious illness journey. Our residential camps have a profound effect and lasting impact on our campers and their families. After participating, children go home with increased confidence, self-esteem and more importantly the reassurance that happiness is not just for healthy children.
Your care and compassion can help children like Jonathan Lennon fighting cancer.
Meet Jonathan Lennon. Jonathan’s diagnosis came only days after he was admitted into the hospital. Large-cell anaplastic lymphoma. A kind of blood cancer.
Crumlin specialist Prof. Aengus O’Marcaigh said Jonathan’s cancer was like standing at the foot of a mountain. Their job was to get him safely over the other side. It was such a shock to us.
Like nearly everyone there is cancer in our families. But your child? You try to
process the words. Cancer… malignancy… lymphoma.
Our Jonathan was about to receive six different types of chemotherapy, over six months, to battle his cancer. Chemotherapy attacks cancer cells and healthy ones, his immune system would weaken. I could scarcely get my head around it.
His doctors were clear about how progressive treatments would get. He may be fine in the first sessions, they said. But as the weeks went on it would take a toll.
It’s so important to me that you come to know our family through my story today, and other families about to live through the same thing.