Community Holds Benefits for Boy Diagnosed with Peritoneal Mesothelioma

The community of Scandia, MN has come together to raise funds for Taylor Boerem, a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with stage 4 peritoneal mesothelioma. The organizers sold “Team Taylor” t-shirts and held a bike run as well as a benefit picnic.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure and affects the lining of the abdomen. While there are close to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in the United States each year, less than 10% of those are peritoneal. According to the boys mother, he is the youngest person diagnosed with this form of mesothelioma.  With a latency period often 20-50 years after exposure before symptoms appear, mesothelioma is extremely rare in children.

In the article, “Primary peritoneal mesotheliomas in children: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of eight cases” the physicians concluded that because of the rarity of peritoneal malignant mesothelioma in children, diagnosing the condition poses difficulties. The boy was losing weight, as well as experiencing fatigue, headaches, nausea and night sweats. He underwent exploratory surgery where the doctors found numerous tumors located in his abdomen.

Taylor is being treated at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he underwent a 13 hour surgery and received his first round of chemotherapy.

See Forest Lake Times for the full article.