Hi! My name is Jay, I'm 12 years old and I have Neuroblastoma. They said I would never make it, but look at me now. I live in Australia with my mum, who I call "Darsly" and my dog Snowflake.

My life started as a healthy baby boy, but as time went on I started to feel a bit sick. My darlsy mum (I call my mum Darlsy) she took me to many doctors because she new there was something wrong with me, but not one doctor would listen and they kept sending me home saying to my Darlsy that she was a neurotic mother and that I just had a little cold.

Well my body hurt a lot, I cried a lot, but no one would listen. Other things started to happen to me, I would sleep very long hours (14-15 hours), I would sweat a lot (too much), I had high temperatures.
Darlsy kept taking me to doctors, they kept saying I just had a little cold.

My Darsly new that there was something bad wrong.

Then one day my left left arm and left leg would not work and I had a little bump on my back which grew twice as big in just a few hours, I kept bumping into things and then I was limp in my darlsy arms with a temperature of 43 degrees, so my darlsy rushed me to the doctor and she shouted, "Don't you dare tell me there is nothing wrong with my son."

I was rushed to the hospital where I was diagnosed with pneumonia - I was put on a drip for three days but I was not getting better and my Darlsy kept saying please look at the lump on my back, but no one would look at it.

I was getting worse and my Darlsy screamed the hospital down demanding someone look at the lump on my back. Finally a surgeon came in and said I was to have a biopsy to see what it was. Hours later the doctor came to my darsly and said, "I am very sorry," they did not explain anything but sent me to a bigger hospital. That is when my Darlsy was then told I had NEUROBLASTOMA.

She did not know what that was but was told it is a very aggressive, rare malignant cancer of the sympathetic nervous system and my tumor had started in my chest and invaded my entire body, wrapping itself around my aorta, spinal cord, adrenal glands, abbutted my heart, kidneys, went all throughout my abdomen and back threw my spine and out my back.

Neuroblastoma is a very painful aggressive cancer and it is a monster, but I was not going to let it get me. Thought clinically to be a Ganglioneuroma (which is a tumor composed of nerve cells, it was then diagnosed NEUROBLASTOMA, so I actually have two types of cancer NEUROBLASTOMA & GANGLIONEUROMA because not only the majority of tumor cells I have are Neuroblastoma but also I have rare scattered fully developed ganglionic cells.

So I was diagnosed NEUROBLASTOMA stage 4 and the N-MYC ongogene study revealed that becasue samples were contaminated then it was reported as falsy having only 1 copy of the gene where in fact there were more copies.

There were so many misdiagnosis until finally all the results were verified properly and was given unfavorable prognositc indicators & given a 10% chance of survival & 2-3 months to live. I was put onto all these horrible toxic drugs - Cyclophosphamide - Cytoxin - Doxorubicin - Adrimycin - VP16 - Cinsplatin - Vincristine & horrible steroids which made me fat - Urine Catecholomines - lumbar punctures - spinal taps - bone marrow apirations - many surgeries which have left me with very large scars (reminders of a monster inside me).

My Journey with cancer has taken up my entire life, but it has taught me a lot of things and one is that you never give up, you fight the fight, and you make the most of every single day and you treasure every moment.

PAIN is TEMPORARY - QUITTING is FOREVER, and I am not a quitter I am a SURVIVOR.

My life has been tough, it has been more than the average healthy boy.I have grown up in hospitals listening to doctor jargan & have become very smart at knowing when they are telling the truth or telling a few lies.

Growing up in the world of cancer has I suppose made me a better person (that sounds strange) but being sick has taught me to be very tough and determined. I would like my life just to be normal, but I don't know what normal is because I have never had a normal life.

My life, my days are consumed with hospital and doctor appointments.
I am nearly 12 years old, an age doctors said I would never make it to (well, I say NEVER SAY NEVER), I made it although I still have a mass which sits on my SPINE at T-11 & T-12 I have to get on with my life.
The mass which sits there is in an inoperable position (meaning it cannot be removed it is far to dangerous to try to remove it) so it sits there just like having a time bomb inside me not knowing if it will explode.

I can't think about what might happen, I have to get on with my life and enjoy life.
You only have one life and you must make the most of it.

PLEASE EVERYONE I HOPE YOU STILL HAVE THOSE
 BIG SMILES ON THE DILES
AND STAY POSITIVE AND STRONG.

 *BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS *

*DON'T FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN'T DO -
 THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO*

 *IF CHILDREN HAVE THE ABILITY TO IGNORE
ODDS & PERCENTAGES -
THEN MAYBE WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM THEM.

*WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT -
WHAT OTHER CHANCE IS THERE BUT TO HOPE!!!

*WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS - MEDICALLY & EMOTIONALLY -

GIVE UP OR FIGHT LIKE HELL