Hillsborough Boy Fighting Aggressive Brain Cancer, Fundraiser Started

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — The community is rallying around a 12-year-old Hillsborough boy and son of a Bridgewater-Raritan teacher following a cancer diagnosis.

A GoFundMe website was started by family friend Rachel McLaughlin for Charlie's cancer recovery. Charlie lives in Hillsborough, with his mother Stephanie, father Ryan, and sister Anna.

The unfortunate discovery began when Charlie had a couple of isolated headaches that would wake him up and make him sick.

On July 14, Charlie went in for an MRI to possibly diagnose migraines. A mass the size of a baseball was discovered by the technician and Charlie was rushed by ambulance to the children's emergency room

The next day Charlie underwent surgery to remove the tumor.

"Within 2 hours of returning from his surgery, he was alert, asking to eat and chatting with the nurse. Although he had a lot of swelling and a large incision from the surgery, he never complained of any pain and continued to feel good. He was communicating clearly, eating regularly and was able to walk unaided. It was amazing to see how well he came through surgery!" wrote McLaughlin.

The tumor was sent for pathology, which confirmed that Charlie's tumor is an aggressive form of cancer.

Charlie needs to undergo radiation therapy and regular MRI scans to check for recurrence. At the end of the month, Charlie will begin six weeks of daily radiation.

As a result, Stephanie and Ryan will be taking time away from work to be with Charlie during his treatments.

The fundraiser will be used to help Charlie's parents with the medical and household expenses that will occur as he goes through his cancer treatments.

"We would like to ease their worry and allow them to focus on supporting Charlie through this difficult process," said McLaughlin. "Although there have been a lot of ups and downs over the last few weeks, we are holding onto the positives when we have them. We pray for Charlie to have a future that is cancer free."

The GoFundMe has raised more than $15,000 since it was launched earlier this week. The campaign has a goal of $20,000.

For more information or to donate visit gofundme.com/f/charlies-cancer-recovery.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com