Who is Peter ?
Peter is a would-be 13-year old from Great Falls, VA. Peter was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma on 7/31/1997. At the time, his prognosis was six months.
Peter, however, fought ten long years, during which he had three bone marrow transplants, 90+ rounds of conventional chemotherapy, and 696 bags of blood product transfusions. In 2000, he was sent to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City for a monoclonal antibody treatment. In 2001, after four courses of the treatment, he had a nine-hour surgery. He continued receiving treatments from MSKCC until, when in 2004, the doctors believed that their protocol did not benefit him anymore.
In March, 2007, Peter was transported to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) by helicopter from Fairfax Hospital. After he received three courses of their clinical therapy, in late July, the principal investigator said that their treatment was no longer an option for Peter because Peter's tumor was progressing too aggressively. His Fairfax oncologists said that he wouldn't make it to the end of the year. A hospice nurse came every Tuesday and Thursday for pain management and to bring extra oxygen tanks while Peter visited the clinic every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for blood product transfusions.
In the end, Peter passed away peacefully in his bedroom on 9/11/2007 in the morning with his mom, dad, brother Jonathan, and sister Catherine by his side. His Funeral Mass was held at St. Catherine of Siena on September 15th and his burial was held at the Arnon Chapel Cemetery across from Great Falls Elementary School.