Young cancer patient exemplifies spirit, cause of Tri-County Optimist Club’s pancake breakfast fundraiser Saturday

By APRIL TOLER, DAILY SUN

Thursday, November 5, 2009 12:42 AM EST

WILDWOOD — Sitting on the family couch beside his younger sister, 11-year-old Greg Nelams looks like any typical kid with his ball cap on crooked, enjoying an afternoon of playing video games.

But since the day he was born, Greg was not your typical child.

Not because of the cancer he has continued to fight throughout his young life, but because of the strength and positive outlook he exudes from his young heart.

“That’s my hero,” his father, Rob, said. “I look up to the way he carries himself and the way he takes everything head-on. Yeah, that’s my hero.”

In addition to his doting parents, Greg has touched the hearts of some local members of the Tri-County Optimist Club, who began working with Greg’s family as part of the club’s cancer campaign committee.

“It has been a beautiful experience in every aspect,” Optimist Francine Kaplan said. “Needless to say, there’s a very heartfelt connection.”

In an effort to continue lending their support to families dealing with childhood cancer, Kaplan and her fellow Optimists will host a pancake breakfast fundraiser Saturday at Cody’s Roadhouse in The Villages.

Funds raised from the benefit will go to three local families, including Greg’s, who are dealing with childhood cancer.

“This particular family, they are very endearing,” Kaplan said. “(Greg’s mom) is just the kindest woman with the most upbeat attitude.”

Fighting from birth

Greg’s journey started some 10 years ago when, at 9 weeks of age, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma — a form of cancer that starts in early nerve cells of the sympathetic nervous system.

The cancer is typically found in infants and young children, according to the American Cancer Society, and can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.

In Greg’s case, tumors were found in his pelvic area, on his liver and one on his skull, and his diagnosis was one no parent wishes to hear.

“He only had a 15 percent chance of survival,” said Beth McGrath, Greg’s mom. “So it was a very, very scary and a very hard time.”

So a brave, and very young, Greg underwent three major abdominal surgeries to remove the main tumor. Although those surgeries proved successful, by the time he was 9 months old, Greg had experienced a relapse, forcing him to undergo more treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and a stem-cell transplant.

Although Beth calls Greg a “good baby” who completed all of his treatment with strength and courage, for the mother of two, watching her young son go through such frightening and adult issues was almost too much to bear.

“It’s so hard, because you don’t know when they’re hurting or how they’re feeling because they can’t communicate with you,” she said. “It’s so hard to imagine what a child is going through at that time; it’s just so hard to put into words.”

After undergoing three years of treatment, Greg was finally cancer-free, minus a small piece of the tumor near the pelvic area that couldn’t be removed.

The news, Beth said, was music to her ears.

“It was an amazing feeling to think you had conquered this monster,” she said. “Our lives felt normal, everything was normal again.”

As for Greg, other than the curved scar adorning the left side of his scalp, his fight with cancer was just a heroic tale his parents told him.

But the family’s world would once again come crashing down in January when, at age 10, Greg came down with pneumonia, which raised flags with his doctors, prompting them to bump up Greg’s annual MRI scan.

That scan would shock the family, revealing a baseball-sized tumor that turned out to be radiation-induced osteosarcoma that would again have Greg fighting for his life.

“When it happened, we were just all so shocked,” Beth said. “How did this happen again out of nowhere?”

On June 26, Greg underwent a 13-hour hemipelvectomy, during which the tumor and half of his pelvis was removed. Now, not only is Greg undergoing chemotherapy, he also had to face losing part of his hip, which left him bedridden for eight weeks.

Although he may not be able to throw a pigskin — football is his favorite sport — or attend school, Greg said his medical condition has not gotten him down. In fact, he believes he is healing more quickly than most and looks forward to walking without the aid of a walker or crutches.

“I try to just keep positive,” he said. “I try not to think about the negative and just try to think about (the future).”

While Greg has seen things most people can never imagine, his mom said he has taught even the wisest adults what living is all about, even keeping her afloat when times got tough.

“At one point they thought he would have to lose his leg because the tumor was so big,” Beth recalled. “They told us that, and I was hysterical crying, and he took me by my shoulder and told me, ‘Mommy, if they have to cut my leg off, they have to cut my leg off. At least I'll be here with you.’ He had to straighten me out.”

That fighter’s approach, alongside the positive attitude that simply radiates from the young man, has not only kept him alive but has inspired those around him.

“I wish everybody could spend 10 minutes with him,” Beth said. “He gives you such light. He gives you hope.”

A helping hand

Greg’s medical issues have been physically draining, and they have also taken their toll emotionally and financially on the family.

But with a little help from some “angels” — aka members of the Tri-County Optimist Club — Greg’s family, and others like them, have found some much-needed financial support in addition to a whole lot of love.

To keep that love flowing to future families, Kaplan said she is hoping this year’s pancake breakfast will be the group’s “biggest fundraiser yet.”

Greg’s parents said it is still astonishing to have a group of people wanting to reach out their hands, and their hearts, to a family they never knew.

“I never imagined that people that you have never met in your entire life could be so kind to people they don’t even know,” Beth said. “It’s amazing to me.”

As for Greg, he’s got one matter-of-fact message for anybody out there who might be facing difficult or challenging times.

“Just stay positive and never give up.”

April Toler is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9013, or april.toler@thevillagesmedia.com.