Asher Davies Asher on Warrior Ground

In early November Asher started experiencing knee pain and inconsistent leg pain.  Asher had just began basketball season and we thought possibly he was experiencing growing pains or joint fatigue from his new basketball schedule and just being a pretty active child all around.  Through the
next few weeks, his pain increased becoming intense and very consistent. 

We scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician.  At first, they thought it might be a virus that moved to his knee joint, which is fairly common in kids.  At that point, we were instructed to manage his pain for a week or so and see if things improved.  The pain continued to intensify and got drastically worse instead of better, we went back to the doctor. 

On his 10th birthday, Asher had his first x-ray which showed a spot on his left femur.  Asher's care was immediately moved to OHSU and Doernbecher Children's
Hospital.  After our first visit at Doernbecher we obviously had a sense that this was far more serious than anybody initially thought, but also a
relief in terms of "this is the place we want to be".  An MRI revealed the spot on Asher’s femur is a tumor. Two days later, on December 16th, Asher went in for his first surgery, a biopsy on the tumor in his leg.  

After an excruciating 9 days we learned the results of the biopsy.  Asher has a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma.  As devastating as this is, the good news is that the doctors believe it is 100% treatable and 100% curable.  The bad news is this little guy has an incredibly difficult and serious battle ahead of him. 

There is a lot we don’t know right now.  But here is what we do:
        
- A full chest CT, full body bone scan and other tests showed the cancer has not spread
        
- Asher will begin chemotherapy at Doernbecher on January 10th and will have extended stays at the hospital over the course of the next 10 weeks
         
-The goal is to shrink the tumor so they can goin and do surgery to remove the tumor
        
- Asher will receive another round of chemo afterthe surgery

Asher has been extremely brave and positive upon receiving his diagnosis.  He has handled this like a total champ! One
of the first things he said to his doctor when given the news was “I’m not worried, my family takes good care of me and I am at one of the best hospitals
in the country.”  Asher’s amazing attitude is helping carry us through the harsh reality of having your child diagnosed with cancer.

We are extremely thankful, appreciative and overwhelmed by all the support, prayers and thoughts our
family and Asher have received.  Your kind words, hugs and help are what help keep us moving forward and focusing on
Asher’s recovery.

Please use this site as a source for updates, information and to share your love with Asher.  As we know more in the coming weeks, we will
keep you posted as to ways you can help.

With love,

The Davies Family