Shawn and Judy were busy expecting their third child when one day, they thought their oldest son Tyler had ruptured his eardrum while jumping on the couch. Clinical tests, however, revealed a tumor behind his ear drum. Initially, they were told there was only a 1 to 3 percent chance of it being cancerous. The biopsy said otherwise, embrional rhabdomyosarcoma. Tyler was only 4.

"I really didn't know what was happening; I just thought I was a little bit sick. I was scared when I found out that cancer was really bad," recalls Tyler. "I do remember getting a tow truck and having my picture taken with the Minnesota Vikings though."

With his yellow rubber duck and stuffed dog Sniffer by his side, Tyler began his journey. His treatments lasted for a little more than a year with multiple stays at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Fairview, the longest being 3 weeks. In 2001, he and his parents also traveled to Boston, Mass., for 28 proton radiation treatments.

"We stayed with Tyler around the clock and really got to know the nurses," says Judy. "The nurses said they used to fight over Tyler on rounds. It was always amazing how many children were also fighting cancer. We never realized what families went through until we took the journey ourselves."
 
The family recognized a commonality with every parent they met. "Everyone had an attitude of 'just dig in and don't look back'," says Judy. "We tried to keep Tyler's life as normal as possible while doing whatever we could to help him become cancer-fee. The nurses and doctors were incredible and we are also very grateful to Children's Cancer Research Fund. Their support goes far beyond research. They reach out and touch the lives of so many children and families undergoing cancer treatment."

Tyler is now 8 years old, cancer-free, and life is back to normal for the family. "I feel good," Tyler says. "I like to play soccer, baseball, basketball and run." Although he still gets ear infections and wears a hearing aid, he can now put his head under water and enjoys swimming lessons.

Tyler also enjoys playing with his three brothers, Tanner, Logan and Noah, and their cats named Elsa and Junior. The family lives close to their grandparents' farm where Tyler rides big John Deere tractors and helps his grandmother feed calves. Tyler's love for tractors is represented by one of 25 squares on Children's Cancer Research Fund's 25th anniversary commemorative quilt.

According to Judy, Tyler now has a real understanding that people, including children, can die from cancer. In 2002, he lost his great uncle Herbie to cancer, followed by his second cousin Katja, who died of leukemia, in 2004 and his great grandmother Rain who died from non-Hodgekins lymphoma in 2005. Although he often inquires about his cancer and whether it will return, Judy says they try their best to reassure him.

Tyler shares this bit of advice with other children battling cancer. "Be brave. Listen to your parents, doctors and nurses because they are trying to help you," he says. "It's not always easy to take all that medicine and chemo, but it will help you beat your cancer."

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