Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, March 30,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 7A
Photo submitted to DCN
Mason Palmour enjoys fishing and has also par
ticipated in DCHS's fishing team.
FROM 1A
Mason
A GoFundMe has also
been set up for the teen,
and it’s called
“#MasonStrong: Help
Mason Get Treatment.”
As of March 28, almost
$22,000 has been raised
for Mason through the
GoFundMe. During a
Nov. 28 gathering for
Mason at the DCHS foot
ball field, a group of
50-55 people raised over
$20,000 in donations in
support of the teen.
Mason Palmour also has
a bank account with Bank
OZK in Dawsonville for
people wanting to make a
deposit there on behalf of
him. Multiple local busi
nesses have also donated
to the upcoming April
event for the teen, accord
ing to the MasonS trong
Fundraising Facebook
page.
For the treatment,
Mason and his family
have to raise between
$130,000-$ 150,000 to get
the waiting list.
The treatment is above
and beyond what insur
ance will cover.
“Even with all the natu
ral supplements he is cur
rently taking, he needs
this treatment to ensure
that this tumor will not
return,” said Mason’s
mother, Alison Palmour.
“We do not want him to
have to endure the pain he
has already been through
with repetitive chemo and
radiation treatments.”
Medical journey
Mason, a DCHS foot
ball safety and wide
receiver and fishing team
member, was diagnosed
with Grade 4
Glioblastoma, a rare and
potent type of brain can
cer, this past fall.
According to a written
account from his mother, a
progression of neurologi
cal symptoms resulted in
Mason collapsing at home
one October day and los
ing movement on the right
side of his body. The fol
lowing day, his father took
him to an emergency
room and an MRI found a
blood clot on the teen’s
brain.
He was then transported
to Children Healthcare of
Atlanta’s Scottish Rite
hospital. Three weeks of
testing did not reveal what
had caused the blood clot.
After weeks of inpatient
therapy, Mason was
released to go home and
was scheduled to continue
a day rehab program with
the hospital.
Two weeks after that,
the teen began experienc
ing headaches that got
progressively worse.
Mason was taken in for an
emergency MRI on Nov.
24, which revealed a
tumor on the teen’s brain
that had grown so aggres
sively it was now visible
in imaging.
Doctors were unsure
about what type of tumor
it was, but they went
ahead and scheduled sur
gery to remove it within
the coming week, accord
ing to the earlier DCN
article.
While his mother ini
tially went home to pre
pare for Thanksgiving,
plans changed later that
night after Mason began
vomiting, lost his speech
and became unresponsive.
Thanksgiving morning, he
had emergency surgery to
relieve swelling, followed
by another surgery to con
trol bleeding from a brain
bleed.
Then on Nov. 29,
Mason had a third surgery
to remove the brain tumor.
During that time, his par
ents and three sisters were
there to support him.
“The way his (Mason’s)
dad explained it to me, the
cancer has grown like a
plant,” said family friend
and Mason’s former
coach, Mike McCarthy.
“With cancer in other
parts of the body, you can
take the top and the
roots...but because it’s on
his brain, they were only
able to take the parts could
see and the roots are [still]
in his brain.”
Even though Mason still
had to do radiation and
chemotherapy because of
the cancer’s aggressive
ness, Alison began
researching and contacting
other connections about
possible alternatives. She
previously worked for a
natural health doctor that
treated cancer patients. A
family member told
Alison that her boss had a
daughter receiving treat
ment at the Seraph
Research Institute in Los
Angeles, California. Mom
reached out to that person,
who guided her “in all the
right directions.”
“This was a God thing!
He has led us here! I just
know it,” said Alison.
The treatment sought by
his family is called natural
killer cell therapy with
dendritic cell therapy.
Alison explained that
during the procedure, cells
are taken from a healthy
immune system and then
infused into a patient’s
body, ideally tricking the
person’s immune system
to fight the cancer.
If Mason is able to get
the therapy, she’s optimis
tic about the potential
results. In a medical study,
a 36-year-old male with
two grade 4 Glioblastoma
tumors, the same kind of
cancer as Mason. The man
was given a prognosis of
six months after doctors
were unable to remove the
tumors.
After starting the new
therapy at Seraph
Research Institute, the
man’s tumors were elimi
nated, and he is now two-
and-a-half years cancer
free.
Mason’s parents hope
their son is able to start
the treatment and have
radiation and chemothera
py as a backup option. So
far, Mason has undergone
six weeks of radiation and
he just started chemother
apy. He has also taken
supplements and had acu
puncture, massage, chiro
practic and physical thera
py treatments to address
his symptoms.
“We want to make sure
Mason gets the best care
possible, and that’s why
we’re doing what we’re
doing,” McCarthy said of
the fundraiser. “This is a
small town and communi
ty, so we’re just trying to
do what we can.”
“I believe God will pro
vide the funds if that’s
where he’s meant to be,”
Alison added. “I want to
raise awareness about this
rare type of cancer, and I
want him (Mason) to have
a testimony and show that
there is hope for [beating]
it.”
Community support
Robert voiced gratitude
for all of the generous
donations for bills, food
and transportation given to
his family during his son’s
medical ordeal. He also
thanked people for tend
ing to the family’s house
and animals while they
were away at the hospital.
“There’s so many peo
ple with such big hearts,
who said, ‘Don’t worry
about anything. We have
everything under control
[here],”’ Robert said.
Robert called the local
goodwill since his son,
Mason’s cancer diagnosis
“life changing.”
“Without the support of
this community, I don’t
know where we’d be...we
definitely wouldn’t be
where we are now,” he
said.
Alison shared that it
was hard and exhausting
dealing with their fears
and concerns in the begin
ning, but she appreciates
that God’s been on her
son’s side this whole time.
She called Mason
breaking his finger in
early fall before football
season a “godsend” and
praised God for more nat
ural treatments that have
helped Mason tolerate his
limited mobility and asso
ciated neurological symp
toms.
Robert considers Mason
“his best friend,” and the
two are very close.
“Me being able to be
with him [more often] is
only possible because of
community support,”
Robert said.
While it’s been difficult
to watch his son’s journey,
he is proud of how the
teen’s endured. Mason’s
doctors have been amazed
that the teen has been able
to recover so well at this
point.
“Amazingly, he has the
best attitude of everyone,”
Robert added. “He’s a
fighter through and
through. He does what
he’s supposed to do...
[and] he’s determined to
get through this and get
mobility back on his right
side.”
“He (Mason) is more
concerned about others
around him than himself.
That’s his character, and
he’s always been that
way,” Alison added.
Mason just wants to
“get back to being a
16-year-old boy again,”
said Alison, with visions
of him fishing, playing
football and being able to
drive the truck that Robert
fixed up for him.
Robert has also been
brainstorming how to
make fishing accessible
for his son and use adapt
able equipment that
requires only one arm to
use.
A few days ago, he took
Mason out for fishing
again.
“It’s pretty exciting to
get him back to something
he loves to do,” Robert
said.
“Mason just wanted to
say thank you for the love
and support that every
one’s shown him,” the
father added. “He knows
that he’s just a blessed
person, and he’s going to
keep fighting.”
Alison believes God is
in this “100 percent” for
Mason and has been with
her son “every step of the
way.”
“Soon Mason will, with
your (local) help, go on to
tell his testimony on how
God made a way, where
all seemed impossible,”
she said. “If you are
unable to donate, prayers
are always needed!”
Thank You Dawson County For Voting Us
Good Shepherd Clinic BEST PLACE
of Dawson County TO VOLUNTEER
WELCOME TO GOOD SHEPHERD CLINIC OF DAWSON COUNTY, INC.
Committed to making Dawson County a better place by providing health care for those who have none.
All operation of Good Shepherd
Clinic are made possible through
the work of our volunteers.
We thank all of them for the support
they give our community.
www.goodshepherddawsonco.org
45 Medical Center Drive I Dawsonville, GA 30534
Phone: 706-429-9914
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