A 21-year-old spotted a mark on his right thigh and assumed that it was an ingrown hair.
Watch the 21-year-old who has a rare type of cancer
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Eventually, Michael Croteau started experiencing tightness in his right knee and thighs but when his mother Susan Williams, who is a nurse, noticed that her son’s ‘ingrown hair’ looked infected, she rushed him to the dermatologist.
The dermatologist referred him to UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas where Michael and his mother found out that it was actually a rare type of cancer.
Michael was diagnosed with pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma (PHE) that affects the skin, muscle, and bones.
Michael said: “I noticed a bump on the outside of my right thigh in September. I could feel it underneath the skin, it felt like there was pressure. It began to change color and I started to think it was an ingrown hair.”
“I had never had one, but I didn’t really know what else it could be. I did dig at it, but there didn’t seem to be a hair there. It became raised and started to look infected. My mum suggested we go and get it looked at.”
“It was a real shock. Cancer had never affected me. It was something I never thought would happen to me, especially at this age. It freaked me out.”
The rare type of cancer had developed into hundreds of tumours and doctors in Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center started treating Michael’s tumours with an experimental oral chemotherapy drug and radiation therapy on the thigh.
The main aim of the treatment was to stop the growth of the tumours. The rare cancer is not curable and it is not known if Michael would survive or not.
The doctors say he may survive for ‘one month or six years’.
Michael’s family has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his treatment and the family wants Michael to spend his remaining life happily.
Michael’s mother, Susan said: “It’s absolutely devastating to hear there is no cure for your 20-year-old son who just finished high school. We don’t know how long he has. It could be one month or six years.”
“Because it’s so rare, there is not much research being done on it, so for us it’s a waiting game. Right now the focus is to give Michael the best quality of life he can have.”
Michael is currently studying at Kilgore College. Michael said: “The goal is to live a normal life for as long as I can. My tumours have remained the same. They haven’t gotten any smaller but they haven’t gotten any bigger either.”
“It’s so hard to tell what will happen because there is not much research into my type of cancer. They aren’t sure how it will develop in the future.”
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