For all the breakthroughs in cancer care over the last few decades, sometimes the best treatment just doesn’t work. That’s what happened to 6-year-old Jude Cobler of Plano.
Jude was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Each year, about 2,500 kids are diagnosed with this type of leukemia.
When Jude's chemotherapy didn’t work, his odds of survival dropped drastically.
“They told us it’s … more like a 20 percent survival rate as opposed to the 80 percent,” said Jude’s dad, Keith. “We didn’t feel very good about that.”
Jude would need a bone marrow transplant. But as a multiracial child -- his mom is from the Philippines, his dad is Caucasian -- chances of finding a match were slim.
Jude is the subject of a new KERA Breakthroughs series called Growing Up After Cancer.
For the next few weeks, we'll take you through Jude's journey -- from his cancer diagnosis and to his recovery.
Explore KERA's digital project here -- there are stories and radio pieces, as well as videos and photos of the Cobler family. And there are preview videos of Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, a documentary that will air on KERA-TV starting March 30.
