Team Benny

Team Benny Ben first conquered cancer at the age of 5, when he beat a Wilms Tumor in his left kidney.
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After 5 and a half years cancer free, the cancer has returned to his right lung and his battle begins again.

No big deal, just a Tuesday when Ben typically feels crappy from the trial med he takes on Mondays, but decided to get u...
09/01/2026

No big deal, just a Tuesday when Ben typically feels crappy from the trial med he takes on Mondays, but decided to get up and not only go to school, but bike to school. Ben keeps showing us he's in charge and Im happy to let him lead the way. ❤️ Also adore how his younger twin siblings said, one of them would lead and one would follow and Ben would be safely between them. My mama heart was beaming this morning.

Yesterday was meet the teacher and drop off your school supplies day, kids start back Monday. Ben especially has been an...
08/28/2026

Yesterday was meet the teacher and drop off your school supplies day, kids start back Monday. Ben especially has been anxious but also super excited, like bouncing off the walls excited to go to school. With this new drug and following radiation we are all cautiously optimistic that there has been some shrinkage in the tumor as he's breathing better and has more energy than hes had all year. My heart is so happy that he will get some normalcy this fall. Like Ben said, he just wants to be Ben in Grade 6, not Ben with cancer and Im praying so hard this new drug gives him plenty of time to do that. And after a very traumatic June where I was praying for God to give us the summer with Ben, it is not lost on me how lucky we are to have him skipping into the front doors of his school now.

Today we are off to the Golf Tournament to support those who have supported our Benny so much this year. Ben is super excited to smash some balls and play in another tournament.

08/25/2026

Quiet day as Benny works through the side effects of this new drug. Luckily it is proving to only impact him for one day now so one day a week of snuggling and relaxing is ok. 🥰

Team Benny Update:Benny's liver enzymes leveled out and we were able to continue the inhibitor drug as planned. We are v...
08/22/2026

Team Benny Update:
Benny's liver enzymes leveled out and we were able to continue the inhibitor drug as planned. We are very thankful for this as its one of the last cards we have to play. Ben has been feeling pretty good although I will say I wish his appetite was better. I think hes losing a bit of weight so we are working on getting him to snack more and feeding him all the fatty foods. My waistline shows it. lol.
Our fall trips are coming together and Ben's medical team is building us the tools and supports to make those trips as easy as possible. They have basically said Ben is in charge and we just have to weigh the risks and make the decision. So for September we will make those experiences Canada based to test the waters and wait for his scans on Oct 5. Mid Sept we will head to Canmore/Banff so Benny can golf in the mountains. Thank you to so many people that have helped make this a reality with golf passes. He will play Tunnel Mountain on the Saturday and Silvertip on the Sunday. Bringing along his parents and siblings to golf and ride along. Then the end of September we will head back to Toronto for allllll the sports. Canada vs Chile soccer game of which Ben's little brother is super excited for and Ben is so proud to include Jake's passion for soccer into his Dream It Do It list, a Jays game and a Leafs game. Thank you again to all those that have helped make tickets for some of these events a reality. It all helps as we spend a small fortune filling everyone's buckets and building memories we hope will last a lifetime. Also in September Benny gets to be part of the Circle of Champions which is a rodeo program aimed at including children with life threatening illnesses. Benny will get to be part of the Thorby Rodeo and then part of the CFR, hence his cute cowboy outfit which was part of the deal. 🥰
Ben is excited and nervous to go back to school in September. We dont know what that fully looks like yet and will follow his lead, but Im excited for him to be with his peers again. It will be a nice break for both of us. ❤️
Lastly, depending on Ben's scans Oct 5, we are hoping to get Benny back to his beach in Mexico again this fall. His medical team is supportive as long as we understand the risks.
In the meantime we continue to hide from the real world at our cabin, getting on the boat when we can and building tree forts when we can't.

Thank you again everyone for the continued prayers, support in finding us tickets and tee times and following our Benny.

08/17/2026

Quick team Benny update.
Today Ben starts round 3 of the inhibitor drug, but we are currently awaiting word from our Doctor as the last bloodwork showed elevated liver enzymes so he wanted bloodwork Today to make a decision on whether we would cut the dosage, pause or stay the course. So we are waiting after having had bloodwork this morning.
Ben has been feeling good the last couple weeks and enjoying time at the cabin. Our plans for Toronto at the end of September are coming together nicely. We got tickets to the Leafs game and will be looking next at the Canada vs Chile soccer game and the Jays game. We are also looking at getting Benny golfing in the mountains in September, one of his wishes.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and messages. Scans are Oct 5 where we will see if the radiation and Selinexor have worked. Big prayers there.

08/13/2026

UPDATE: Im pretty sure we have the Leafs tickets sorted. 🥰
Team Benny, we need some help! We are planning Ben's next Wish It Do It Trip and we are going back to Toronto! Ben really wants to go to an NHL game in a different arena and due to his health we need to stay in Canada. He also wants to include the Canada vs Chile soccer game which is on the 26th, his brother is a HUGE soccer fan. So we are planning soccer on Sept 26th, Jays game on the 27th and Leafs game on the 29th. Does anyone have a hookup for Leafs tickets? I know we are a big family (6 of us) and we can pay, but man Im seeing ticket prices that are kinda insane and Ben cant do a ton of stairs with his current lung capacity. 😵‍💫 Help!!!!

08/11/2026

Its been a while since we have had a package opening! Enjoy! And Thank you!

Thank you so much to the Blackhawk Golf Club for hosting Ben today and spoiling him. Apparently he gave his Dad a run f...
08/07/2026

Thank you so much to the Blackhawk Golf Club for hosting Ben today and spoiling him. Apparently he gave his Dad a run for his money and kept saying, "this is the nicest course I have ever played!" And thank you to Bob and Sandy Evans for helping to tee this up. 🥰
As you can see, Ben has bounced back after a rough couple days starting the new trial drug.

08/07/2026

Benny had a good day friends. Thank you all for your messages. He woke up with a bit more bounce in his step and ate 3 meals! Ill take it! Tomorrow he golf's Blackhawk as their special guest. So glad he is feeling a bit better.

08/06/2026

Small Team Benny update:
We are on day 4 of the new trial drug. Ben takes it once a week and the first time was Monday. We knew there would be side effects but since Benny did so well on all the other drugs, some much stronger, we weren't too concerned. We still aren't overly concerned although I do wish my boy would get the pep back in his step. He has been fatigued all week, just wanting to lay on the couch and snuggle. His appetite has been almost non-existent and we are having to give him bith proactive and sometimes reactive anti-nausea meds. In true Ben fashion he still has a smile on his face and even did a coupke runs on his kneeboard yesterday in spite of all of this. Praying that this is just his body adjusting to a new medicine and not what this drug will cause for the long run.
At this stage Cory and I are having to make a lot of decisions in the best interest of Ben. As we said before, we are adamant that unless there is a cure or magical surgery to remove the tumor, Ben will never sleep in that hospital again. Our decisions are based on giving Ben the highest quality of life while also striving for quantity which is a sticky balance when trying new drugs like this. They say inhibitors are the latest and greatest in cancer research. They can keep tumors stable for years. I just pray that this doesn't come with a price tag of Ben being too tired and feeling generally crappy all the time. Cory and I have said we will continue on for a few weeks and see how he does, the Doctors and the program that supplies the med are following closely too. I just wish we had a magical ball to tell us what those scans will say in October. Is it working, did the radiation work?
For now we continue to spend time at our cabin and will snuggle when Ben wants to snuggle and get him doing anything fun he can and wants to do when he has the energy.

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Ben Thomas 314/222 Baseline Road, Unit 38
Sherwood Park, AB
T8H1S8

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