Two-Year-Old With Down Syndrome Celebrates 11 Months Of Being Cancer-Free By Dancing With His Dad

Oct 21, 2019 by apost team

Beating cancer requires the will of a warrior. Struggling through the endless rounds of treatment while staring down this horrible disease is something adults struggle with, but despite his tender age, Kristian Thomas has triumphed over cancer.

Recently, a video showing Kristian, 2 years old, and his father, Kenny Thomas, dancing together went viral. They weren't just dancing for fun; they were dancing to celebrate Kristian's 11-month cancer free checkup.

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Kristian was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just a tiny baby in June 2018. After undergoing five rounds of chemotherapy, he went into complete remission in November 2018. Ever since he has undergone regular check-ups: and he is still cancer-free almost a year later!

What makes this story even more heartwarming and unique is that Kristian was born with Down syndrome, also referred to as trisomy 21. This condition is caused by an error occurring during the formation of the sperm or egg where an extra chromosome 21, or an extra piece of chromosome 21, remains in the germ cell and is transmitted to every cell within the new baby's body.

In addition to causing a number of abnormalities like mental retardation and characteristic facial features, trisomy 21 dramatically increases the risk of developing leukemia by up to 20-fold. Sadly, children with trisomy 21 who develop leukemia have a much higher rate of dying from the disease than the general population. On the plus side, children with trisomy 21 who beat their cancer are far less likely than the general population to develop secondary cancer later on. 

This means that Kristian and Kenny Thomas can look forward to many years of celebrating being cancer-free. If you want to encourage your friends to help celebrate with Kristian, consider discussing this uplifting story with them.