Parker Spurgeon, a junior student at Santa Fe, has been diagnosed with cancer.
In July of this year, Parker Spurgeon was diagnosed while he was a patient at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. Doctors originally thought he had a type of Lymphoma but after rounds of testing, he was diagnosed
with T-cell Acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a type of cancer in which bone marrow makes too many white blood cells.
After the diagnosis, Spurgeon started chemotherapy, a treatment that helps kill fast-growing cancer cells.
“I’ve been way worse than I am right now,” Spurgeon said. “At the beginning of treatment, it made me so weak to the point where it was hard to walk, I’m still struggling on walking a little bit, but I’m stronger than I was when I started treatment”.
Spurgeon had many experiences since starting chemotherapy, such as the effects of his medicine.
“The induction phase was really hard on me because I was taking the steroids that made my face puffy and just made me sick,” Spurgeon said “The consolidation phase so far has not been near as bad.”
When Student Council (STUCO) heard about Spurgeon’s diagnosis, they hosted a football game as a fundraiser, raising $620. The money was raised through tickets and concession purchases, and it went towards the cost of Spurgeon’s chemotherapy.
Cancer research relies on donations to help children. If you or someone you know might want to donate, please consider donating to Spurgeon’s “MealTrain.” The meal train also includes updates from the Spurgeon family about Parker Spurgeon’s condition. Donations can also be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Donations to St. Jude fund research and cover the cost of lifesaving treatment and world-class patient care.
This article has been updated as of 10/30/2024 8:17am. Originally the article stated Spurgeon was scheduled to have surgery Oct. 31st, but that has been corrected.
