Los Alamitos Area Family Raises Childhood Cancer Awareness

LOS ALAMITOS, CA — September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, but that's more than just a gold ribbon or a hashtag for many Orange County families.

Eight-year-old Joey Born is a Garden Grove resident. His parents, Traci and David-John, both drive buses for Disneyland. Until recently, Traci hadn't been able to go back to work. She's been raising and homeschooling Joey who was first diagnosed with histiocytosis at just 6 months old.

Young Joey’s life has been a battleground of chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and steroid treatments. For the Born family, childhood cancer has been a way of life. They talk in terms of raising warriors, not just children, and there's good reason for that.

Among Joey's best friends are those he’s met in children’s cancer center wards. Recently, when Joey’s friend “Olly the Superbean” had to head back to the hospital for another round of chemotherapy, young Joey decided to show the support the only way he knew how.

“Joey said, ‘Mom, I want to shave for Olly!’ and he wanted me to take his picture,” mom Traci Born said. “He never wants his picture taken.”

What was more, Joey’s father and brother both shaved their heads, too. All in support of a young Visalia, California boy who decided to take charge.

“it’s very powerful for kids to shave their own hair rather than wait for chemotherapy to make them lose it,” Traci said. “He remembered how hard it was to lose his hair and didn't want his friend to be alone.”

What Traci didn’t expect was how hard it was to see her son shaved bald again. Memories of Joey’s fight against cancer are still fresh in her mind.

“It took four months to diagnose (Joey),” mother Traci said. “He was sick at two months old and just got worse. The doctors thought he had bronchitis but it just got worse and no antibiotic would work.”

On December 29 of 2009, they received the news that Joey had a form of cancer with a reasonably high survival rate. The doctors told Traci and her husband it was good news Joey had Histiocytosis.

“A Histiocytosis diagnosis is not good news,” she said. “Life has been a struggle, and Joey has needed constant care until recently.”

Langerhans Cell Histiocyctosis has only recently been classified as a form of cancer. The treatment and therapy for the disease that caused masses that misaligned Joey's organs.

As a result of his multiple treatments and therapies, including a bone marrow transplant by a matching donor, Joey now has weakened bones. The gift of a bike with training wheels at age 4 resulted in a broken femur, from knee to hip.

“He no longer needs medication, after his bone marrow transplant, however Joey has developmental delays and post-traumatic stress. He rarely lets me take his picture,” she said. “That is what made this day so special.”

Together with his dad, David-John, and brother David, Joey shaved his head to honor a friend and shared the pictures across facebook—often the only method of communication for kids who are immunocompromised.

But with the whole family stepping it, it’s a cause she can get behind.

“Cancer is a diagnosis for the whole family. Joey’s brother and sister are very close to him, his cancer and treatment was scary for all of them,” she said. Now, posting on Facebook every day for the month of September, Traci digs into the memories of Joey's experiences. Looking to his support of a friend, she continues to be proud.

"As hard as it is for me to see Joey bald again, it's worth it," she said of the memory of watching her sons and husband shave their hair for Olly. "It's all for the love and support he is giving to a friend."

Show your support of Team Superbean: https://www.facebook.com/TeamSuperBean/

Photos courtesy Traci Born