Oregon family’s life turned upside down after mom and son recieve cancer diagnoses on the same day: ‘It was pretty surreal’

An Oregon mother and son are undergoing treatment after they were both diagnosed with different types of cancer on the same day, according to a report.

Britney and Jake McRae’s four-year-old son, Jamon, had been experiencing severe headaches when his parents took him to an emergency room in Medford, southern Oregon, and doctors diagnosed him with a brain tumor, Jake’s sister, Chantal McRae, told ABC 4.

Following a 15-hour procedure to try and remove the mass, doctors discovered that what they thought was a benign cyst was actually an aggressively malignant tumor called an Ependymoma.

“They were unable to remove all of the tumor in the first surgery, and doctors said that it was probably the hardest surgery that they had ever done,” Chantal said.

That same day, Britney’s oncologist diagnosed her with Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia, a rare condition given to a group of tumors that grow in a patient’s uterus during an abnormal pregnancy.

Britney had experienced an eight-week molar pregnancy. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a molar pregnancy occurs when an egg and sperm join incorrectly at fertilization, causing tumors to grow in the uterus.

In Britney’s case, the tumors had become cancerous and required chemotherapy treatment, her sister told the outlet.

“It was pretty surreal,” Chantal said about both relatives receiving their diagnoses within the same 24 hours.

In the time between Jamon’s first and second surgeries, Chantal said the family went home to decorate for Christmas.

“Christmas is Jamon’s favorite time, so it was cool that they got to go home for that,” she said.

The four-year-old’s second surgery resulted in the removal of 99 percent of his tumor. The remaining one percent was connected to his brainstem and could have caused irreparable damage if removed, Chantal said.

Jamon is now recovering in the hospital after another follow-up surgery, which caused him to temporarily lose the ability to control his right eye, causing double vision.

“He was saying, ‘Hi two daddies’ or ‘Hi two TVs,” Chantal said, noting his doctors say they expect these symptoms to eventually go away.

Both mother and son are working toward recovery. Britney’s condition is treatable and she has already started a course of chemotherapy. Meanwhile, Jamon will need at least six weeks of radiation before potentially starting chemotherapy as well, Chantal said.

A GoFundMe was started by Britney’s brother, Zachary Flores, to cover medical expenses as well as to pay for the family’s trips between their home in Medford to Primary Children’s Hospital in Stanford, California, where Jamon has received his treatment.

The fundraiser had raised over $87,000 as of Monday afternoon.

“We’re so appreciative of the massive amount of support that we’ve received from the community. It really shows the humanity, that the world is still a pretty good place, even though there’s some pretty awful things that are happening,” Chantal said. “We’re still very hopeful. The odds aren’t completely against Jamon, so we’re still rooting for him. We’re hopeful that we’ll have a good outcome ultimately for him.”

While a lot remains up in the air, Chantal says the family remains hopeful that Jamon will be home in time to celebrate Christmas.