Mason’s Story

Mason was diagnosed with TCell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on 3/21/24 after alerting his pediatrician to random bruising and petechiae. Bloodwork indicated that his white blood cell count was almost one million and he was airlifted to CHOP, where they performed additional testing and came up with his treatment plan.

He responded well to treatment for the first 5 months and by August of 2024 we were told he had officially reached remission. This remission ended up being extremely short-lived and Mason was admitted to the hospital again over the Labor Day weekend with complaints of leg pain.

A bone marrow biopsy confirmed that an extremely rare phenomenon had occurred - he not only relapsed, but he had experienced a lineage switch to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. This news was also accompanied by the warning of a poor prognosis due to the lack of data currently available to support an effective treatment option.

Still, in true Mason style, he fought hard -enduring another 5 different treatment protocols and one round of cranial radiation once the leukemia spread to his cerebral spinal fluid. On February 14th, 2025, Mason passed away surrounded by love.

Mason admired superheroes, specifically the Incredible Hulk, and was fortunate enough to celebrate his 3rd birthday at home, with the Hulk in attendance. Of the many interactions he had that day with the Hulk, the image on this shirt of Mason and the Hulk fist-bumping became a symbolic one. One that shows not only his own true strength, but the strength that every child encompasses who has battled cancer.

- Written by Kristina Phillips, Mason’s mom