Saudi Gazette Muhammad is the youngest child, the only boy in the family and is doted on by his parents and four sisters. He was a healthy, playful little boy until some four months ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. “Muhammad was a perfectly healthy baby throughout his early childhood and he was active. We had no clue that our little boy was developing cancer,” Muhammad's father told Al-Hayat newspaper. “A couple months ago, Muhammad started complaining of sharp pain in the back of the head and he had difficulty walking. We took him to the hospital for what we thought was a routine check-up, and surprisingly he was diagnosed with cancer. A bigger blow came when further tests revealed that there were five tumors in his brain,” he said. Shock, confusion, and tragedy struck the family when they heard the news two months ago and until this day, they aid their son in his struggle to hold on to his life. Muhammad's doctors informed the parents that surgery was the best option. “Our tears and supplication for Muhammad do not stop. We fail to understand how his little body will handle major surgery and possibly more treatment following the surgery” said Muhammad's grief-stricken father. “We have seen adults suffering from cancer who are unable to tolerate the side effects of chemotherapy and it tears us up inside when we think about our little son's pain. But we have no choice and we have accepted that this is fate and that we must be patient,” he added. So far, the surgeons have successfully removed only two tumors from his brain after his surgery at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam. The other three tumors are located in sensitive parts of the brain, the brain stem and spinal cord, and it was too risky to attempt their removal. Muhammad now spends his days at the hospital with his parents by his side. His oncologists recommended chemotherapy and radiation to prevent the three remaining tumors from growing. “Life for us no longer has any taste, but we still did not lose hope,” said Muhammad's father. “At the moment, Muhammad is being treated with chemotherapy and radiation. We are planning to travel abroad so Muhammad can get a procedure that involves cultivation of healthy cells,” he added. __
