Young touchdown
RYAN SODERLIN/APJack Hoffman takes the field with the Husker football team in the fourth quarter of Nebraska's spring NCAA college football game on April 6. Hoffman, who is battling pediatric brain cancer, gained national attention for his 69-yard touchdown.
That's three touchdowns for Jack Hoffman.
The 8-year-old with brain cancer ran a 69-yard touchdown for Nebraska's Cornhuskers this spring. He then managed to draft President Barack Obama onto his team. Now, he's nabbed his biggest win yet-by fighting back against pediatric brain cancer.
Dad Andy Hoffman told The News that his son's brain tumor has finally stabilized.
"It's rock solid stable," Andy remembers doctors saying after analyzing the boy's latest MRI.
It's not the same as going into remission, so the battle may not be over yet. Doctors warned the Hoffmans that more than 50% of the kids in Jack's situation will relapse at some point in the future. Still, the family is cautiously optimistic.
"It's not the knock-out permanent punch you hope for it to be, but we're not dwelling on that," Andy said. "We're just very thankful."
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Jack was diagnosed with cancer in April 2011. Since then, he's had two deeply invasive surgeries to try to remove the tumor in his brain. For nearly a year, he suffered from secondary epilepsy and had up to eleven partial seizures every day.
Andy said he marveled at the way his little boy stayed "tough." Jack remained wide awake through epidurals without sedation. And he never complained.
"He never bucked us," Andy said. "He just put on his boots and went to work."
After 60 weeks of chemotherapy, the little boy is closer to beating the disease.
Jack is now traveling to the Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha to get his chemo port removed. The port was inserted under his chest so that medicine can disseminate through his body quickly. With the port attached, Andy said that Jack was at constant risk for infection. He couldn't do the things his classmates could do, like go boating or go to the beach.
"This is more symbolic than anything," Andy said. "He'll just be a boy-- no chemo, no port, just Jack. We haven't had that for a long time."
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Jack has plenty of fans cheering him on. Former Husker Rex Burkhead might just be his biggest. The athlete, who now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, heads the "Team Jack" support network and helped Jack score a touchdown during a scrimmage in April.
The heartwarming play brought more than 60,000 fans in the stadium to their feet. It later won an ESPY award for the best moment in sports.
Jack also had a chance to visit the Oval Office for a chat with Obama. The President handed the boy a signed football and told Jack that he was a proud fan.
The Hoffman family is continuing to use the Jack's football fame to raise awareness about pediatric brain cancer. Their non-profit, the Team Jack Foundation, has already raised more than $1 million to fund pediatric brain cancer research. Andy hopes this brings good news to other families whose children are also affected by the illness.
"People need to know that this disease is in desperate need of research funding," Andy said. "The treatment modalities are old and archaic and largely ineffective."
"We're excited about Jack and his wonderful MRI, but it breaks our heart that not everyone will get the same news that Jack has so far," Andy said.
With News Wire Services
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