The Setlock Family

Watch the Setlock's Discovering Diamonds story here.

Joey was an active six year old boy that loved Tae Kwon Do and his little brother Mike.  After what seemed to be a lingering flu, Joey was taken to the emergency room for tests.  The doctors diagnosed Joey with a ruptured appendix and surgery was scheduled.

Joey’s appendix was never removed.  The surgery ended abruptly.  The Doctor immediately went to find Joey’s parents, Kathy and Stan.  In one moment, with one sentence the Setlocks’ lives changed forever.  The doctor reported, “Joey’s appendix is fine, but he has cancer.”

A tumor the size of a man’s fist was wrapped around Joey’s bowels, there were tumors in his kidneys, and about 50% of his bone marrow was infected.  He was diagnosed with Burkitt ’s lymphoma, a rare and fast moving cancer.  Joey needed to begin treatment immediately. No choice, no control.  Joey would need to go through months of intense chemotherapy to have a chance at conquering this cancer.

A simple trip to the doctor turned into a battle with cancer.  

The Setlocks camped out at the hospital for the next 90 days while Joey went through chemotherapy, spinal taps, bone marrow taps, IV feedings, transfusions, and injections.

The intensive treatment didn’t just take a tremendous toll on Joey; the whole family suffered.  In particular, it was very hard for Joey’s little brother Mike.  Kathy would often have two crying boys, one who didn’t want to go back to the hospital and the other desperate for his brother to stay at home. 

When Kathy reflects on this difficult time, she said, “We never felt alone, THON and The Four Diamonds Fund were always there to support us!”
   
“While the ugly book of cancer had us as main characters, we were being added to another book and that was the book of THON. A whole new and wonderful world was opened to us when we attended our first THON Weekend. You can’t describe the event – you have to experience it.”

The Setlock family is proud to report that Joey has won his battle with cancer!
   
For the Setlock family, cancer is a thing of the past.  Joey is a 4th grader who loves to talk about his future dreams.  As Kathy put it, “Battling childhood cancer is challenging. THON and The Four Diamonds Fund’s services not only make the journey easier, but also make future dreams possible.”