Fighting For Jonah: How A Toddler Beat Pediatric Liver Cancer at CHRISTUS Children’s

When Jonah Cervantes Garcia was 15 months old, his parents, Jasson and Denise, began to worry about small changes they were seeing in their son. He had frequent low-grade fevers, seemed unusually tired, lost interest in food and was fussier than usual.

Jasson and Denise’s instincts told them these symptoms were more than common toddler ailments, but they never imagined Jonah’s symptoms would lead to a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC, a rare and aggressive form of pediatric liver cancer.

“I had shared my concerns at Jonah’s 15- and 18-month checkups, but was assured that everything was fine,” Denise said. “At his 20-month checkup, I was determined to be heard and insisted on further testing.”

Jonah’s 20-month checkup was on a Monday in August 2022. By Wednesday, the family received results confirming Jonah’s liver was inflamed and were referred to a gastroenterologist. That Friday morning, Jonah had a CT scan.

“That afternoon, we got a call that Jonah was being admitted to CHRISTUS Children’s immediately,” Denise explained. “We were stunned to learn that the CT had revealed a mass on his liver. I started the week thinking maybe he had eaten a Lego or had a simple digestive issue, and then we were discussing cancer treatment.”

A Rare Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Oncology experts at CHRISTUS Children’s arranged further testing to uncover the cause of his symptoms. Hepatoblastoma is the most common type of pediatric liver cancer, particularly at this age, so it came as a surprise when the biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of HCC.

While treatment for both types of cancer often includes chemotherapy, HCC can be more resistant and difficult to cure.

“It’s quite rare to see HCC in pediatrics, much less a toddler,” explained Dr. Julie Voeller, a pediatric oncologist at CHRISTUS Children’s. “We knew that we needed to act quickly and aggressively to help Jonah.”

Chemotherapy began immediately after confirming Jonah had HCC.

“He had a lot of nausea and vomiting and had to be admitted a few times for blood transfusions,” Denise recalled. “Getting him to eat was a regular challenge, so we would do anything we could to encourage him to eat—we even drove 40 minutes one way to pick up his favorite tacos.”

After every two rounds of chemotherapy, Jonah received an MRI to gauge the size of the tumor. While the treatments helped reduce the tumor, Dr. Voeller was concerned it wasn’t shrinking enough.

“What made Jonah’s case even more complex was that the tumor had grown into a major blood vessel near his heart, a condition called tumor thrombus,” Dr. Voeller explained. “That made a complete surgical removal of the tumor impossible, and it also meant that many hospitals couldn’t consider Jonah an ideal candidate for a liver transplant.”

“One transplant team told us they couldn’t help Jonah due to the stage of his cancer and the size of his tumor,” Jasson recalled. “I remember one of the physicians said to us, ‘We’re not God.’ We felt so hopeless at that point, but Dr. Voeller didn’t give up.”