Caleb Strong
This page is dedicated to Caleb - please read on to learn about Caleb and his fight with cancer...
Caleb is a 16-year-old boy who attends DCHS. He loves working out, playing basketball, Fortnite, hanging out with friends, and anything to do with cars.
In November 2024, Caleb’s journey took an unexpected turn when a lump on the back of his neck was found to be malignant. After further tests, he was diagnosed with CIC-DUX4 sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. Just days after receiving the diagnosis, Caleb began an intensive 30-week treatment plan. This includes chemotherapy every other week for 12 weeks, followed by radiation, surgery, and another 12-week chemo cycle.
Caleb’s strength and determination inspire everyone around him, and with your support, we can help ease the financial burden on his family and assist with treatments during this challenging time. Every contribution and prayer helps Caleb focus on what truly matters—his health and recovery.
There will be a fundraiser held at WILD OPEN SALOON on FEB 22nd 1pm if you can't attend there are other ways to support Caleb with T-shirt purchase, Go Fund Me and donations to the silent auction!
CALEB STRONG T-SHIRTS!
Current orders being collected through 2/5/2025.
We are collecting orders for Caleb Strong Tee-Shirts. We want to see everyone show up in these for his fundraiser on 2/22/2025 @ Wide Open Saloon - ALL AGES WELCOME. We will collect orders through 2/5/2025. Hope to see everyone at his fundraiser wearing their shirts!
If you can not attend the fundraiser, this is a great way to support Caleb as all proceeds go towards the fundraiser!
GET YOUR TEE HERE!
CALEB'S CANCER JOURNEY
January 25, 2025 - Make-A-Wish
An exciting piece of this journey is that Caleb has been granted a wish from Make-A-Wish foundation 
He has decided on a vacation in the form of a cruise to the Bahamas 
. We prob can't go until this summer or fall after his initial treatment plan is completed but what an exciting thing to look forward to!
January 19, 2025
Had a fun outing to the shooting range. We are both pretty new to shooting.
Week 6-8 - January 19, 2025
Week 6-8
It's been a few weeks since I've given an update. Needed some time to digest the metastasize to lung info we found out over the holiday. Caleb's still doing and feeling well all things considered. His team changed up our chemo schedule a little so we could get 1 of the outpatient chemo meds out of the way before he starts radiation. With that change and with chemo being every other week we have had a couple outpatient chemo weeks back to back. That also means we will have a few inpatient chemo weeks back to back in our near future.
Plan is to continue on our chemo schedule all throughout radiation and surgery. If all goes according to plan Caleb will start radiation late February. Radiation will be on his neck and lungs. It will be for 6 weeks, 5 days a week. After that's completed he will have a few weeks to heal from radiation and then surgery on his neck will happen (around May).
Caleb's school is representing him for wish week (along with another child), which I think is amazing!
Caleb's still finalizing the details of his own Make-A-Wish so stay tuned.
We do still have Caleb Strong shirts for sale still and please save the date for the fundraiser we are having 2/22/25 at 1p at Wide Open Saloon.
Ps- I think him wearing an ice cube shirt while playing scrabble shows just how well rounded he is 
Week 5 - Dec 24, 2024
So we went to do out patient chemo this week (Monday). They started the process with Caleb's hour of fluids pre chemo and in that time I brought up my concern about the tumor growing exponentially in the last few weeks. I pushed for more imaging sooner than later. Dr measured and agreed on a stat CT of head, neck, and lungs. So instead of starting chemo we got imaging. He got a head, neck, chest ct. Then we got home and they wanted us to come back to get a head/ neck mri.
Got a mix of good and bad news....nodules on his lungs ARE cancerous so it has metastasized. Good thing is chemo seems to be decreasing the size of those lung nodules and there is necrosis in the center of the neck mass which means those cancerous cells are dying.
For now we will keep trucking along with our current treatment plan and go back for chemo Thursday Friday this week since we didn't get chemo yesterday. Since the cancer nodules in the lungs were newly confirmed there are still discussions as to whether we will start radiation on his lungs within the next few weeks or what that timing looks like. The plan for the neck mass to have either surgery or radiation is still set for week 13 (mid February).
Since it has metastasized we aren't going to focus on those prognosis stats but just keep fighting and loving on Caleb.
We are happy to be at home for the holidays!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Week 4- Dec 17, 2024
Weekly update:
We are in week 4. Just a lab week 
(transfusion if needed).
(transfusion if needed).Today no transfusion was needed 
We have another lab appt on Friday.
Caleb's feeling tired but decent.
The elf somehow followed us in to children's hospital (pictured).
Caleb was exempt from finals at school this week and will be doing a homebound program next semester since he won't be able to attend in person 1.5 of every 3 weeks.
We are waiting on a few second opinions from MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, and Harvard that will hopefully start trickling in this week.
We received news that Caleb has been approved for a wish from Make-A-Wish. He's thinking about what his wish will be.
For everyone who ordered #CalebStrong shirts they will be in Friday. ((You can purchase your own Caleb Strong T-shirt HERE!))
WEEK 3- Dec 11, 2024
First 5 day chemo admit- (it's really 6 days).
Finishing up day 2 -
Caleb noticed his hair falling out (side effect from chemo) had begun so he decided to shave his hair shorter this week. Head shaving 2.0!
He's rocking it and looking like he's ready to enlist in the military.
Chemo symptoms for him have been tolerable so far. Minor nausea and tiredness.
We got out of the room for some bingo today and he won a large stuffed dog. We toured the physical therapy gyms here so he can have that as an option to stay active during his inpatient stays. Then he rode his med tower down the hall.
If you zoom in on his med tower in front of the Christmas tree pic you can see that Jackson, our dogs, face is taped on it since the med tower is kind of like Caleb's leash.
Amanda Furnish and I decorated Calebs room window for the holidays.
"Every day may not be good but there is something good in every day" -unknown
I saw this quote and Caleb is the epitome of this! This is a tough situation on all of us but Caleb's still finding reasons to smile and keeping us laughing.
Dec 4, 2024
This week is our lab week at children's. While Caleb won't need a blood transfusion today we do know that transfusions are highly likely for him throughout the course of his treatment plan.
Even if you can't make it down to children's hospital today please consider donating blood/ platelets soon for all the children that will need it! While you can't donate blood directly to Caleb you can still help make a difference! 
Update after our visit-
No transfusion today. Labs were good minus anc being low so he's neutropenic (meaning easier to catch an infection) but nothing to really worry about right now.
Pathology results were completed and we have our official cancer name- CIC-Dux 4- small, round, blue cell sarcoma.
While the bone marrow biopsy was negative and that was huge, he does have some nodules in his lungs that we can't rule out as to whether they are cancer or not right now. The nodules are very small and we will see how they react to the chemo with more imaging at the 12 week mark.
Our medical team is still hopeful and leaning towards the cancer being localized but we can't be 100% sure at this time. At the 12 week mark when we have more imaging is when we will get the staging and the official word as to whether it's localized or metastasized. We received both prognoses today just so we could be informed. We will continue to fight with our 50% glass half full outlook.
We appreciate continued prayers and positive vibes and we are ready to fight this nasty cancer!
Nov 29, 2024
Thank you to everyone who came out to the head shaving event!
Nov 28, 2024
We had family pictures done right before all this craziness started.
Beyond thankful for these 4!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Week 1 - November 27, 2024
First chemo treatment completed!
Caleb was discharged home this evening
If everything goes according to plan we will have about 1.5 weeks at home before he returns for his first 5 day chemo treatment admission.
Summary of his 30 week treatment plan-
For this first 12 weeks of this chemo cycle we will alternate chemo weeks with lab weeks. Chemo weeks alternate between inpatient and outpatient. Inpatient will be a 5 day admission each time (besides this first time which was shorter) and outpatient chemo weeks will be 2 days a week at clinic.
At the 12 week mark the oncology team will decide whether to do surgery (mass removal) or radiation. After that he will do another 12 weeks of the chemo cycle.
So lucky to come how to a clean house and Christmas lights hung thanks to my family!
We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! 
Update: 11/27/24- Bone marrow biopsy results just came in and they are negative That means this cancer has NOT spread to his bones. 
That means this cancer has NOT spread to his bones.
November 25, 2024
It has been a long, busy day but not to bad overall.
Caleb had his medication port placement surgery and a bone marrow biopsy this morning. Then midday he had a CT and PET scan. These tests were to check if his cancer has spread or if it's localized.
We don't have the bone marrow biopsy yet but the Dr felt pretty confident that based on the imaging we can say it's localized
This is huge since being localized has a better prognosis than metastasized.
The doctors here are collaborating with different doctors nationwide to make sure we are attacking this mass with the correct protocol and meds.
He has felt good all day and hasn't had any pain. He will start his first round of chemo treatment in about an hour. This first treatment will run for 8 hours.
He will have another, shorter, chemo treatment tomorrow evening and then we are hoping to be discharged on Wednesday.
November 24, 2024
Thank you Amanda Roberts Garbowitz for the great idea of doing something fun today before we head to children's tomorrow to start Caleb's 30 week treatment plan!
Thank you to everyone who donated to fund this outing. Caleb chose topgolf and invited some friends from school and some friends he's been friends with since preschool (and us moms have remained friends too).
We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow and will be admitted at the hospital for a couple days for his procedures and to start chemo. I will update everyone within the next day or 2.
Please send prayers and positive vibes that Caleb continues to face each challenge with a strong, positive mindset, and the ability for him to feel everyone's support and strength on the days ahead when he doesn't feel as positive as he does right now.
November 22, 2024
Oncologist and I had a phone call planned for 1p today. He called and asked that we head to children's to receive the news in person.
High grade, aggressive, rare sarcoma, most consistent with CIC rearranged sarcoma family dux4.
Waiting on genetics from pathology with final results and then will have an official diagnosis with the exact cancer name but it's in that family and it doesn't change the treatment plan based on what they have seen on the smears.
Monday Caleb will get a Ct and pet scan and bone marrow biopsy to see if it has spread.
He will also start chemo Monday or Tuesday.
We need all the prayers we can get for it being localized to increase his odds as this news is already unsettling to us.
Caleb is so strong and he is already in awe of all the support he has received.
November 18, 2024
Sedated Biopsy done and Caleb's back at home resting. Surgeon thinks he got some great tissue samples so hopefully pathology will have results within the next few days and we can get his treatment started and get rid of this mass.
November 17, 2024
On Friday we received news that shook up our world and broke my momma heart.
Caleb has a malignant mass in his neck (bottom right circle of white on the image).
Luckily he feels fine otherwise right now but cancer is not something a child should ever have to deal with and we are all still in shock.
Tomorrow he will get a biopsy and we will have a better idea of the type of cancer and what his treatment will look like going forward.
He is such a strong kid and a genuine and amazing human and has maintained a positive attitude through this. We know he's in great hands at children's hospital.
We appreciate everyone reaching out so far. If everyone could send prayers and positive vibes Caleb's way that would be appreciated.
I will use Facebook (and here on the website) to update everyone throughout the process.
