On March 8, 2022, our lives changed forever when we lost our son Charlie after a courageous two-and-a-half-year battle with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer that affects approximately 300 kids yearly. There are no words to describe the unimaginable loss and bewilderment we feel over losing Charlie. There are simply no words, yet there is so much to say.

To know Charlie was to love him. Often, people would comment on his million-dollar, megawatt smile. As a little boy, he exuded such a zest, playfulness and joy for life. As a teenager, his sense of humor, his warmth and his energy were always buzzing. He was happy and fun to be around. He had a bright future and so much good ahead of him.

Charlie was a lover of all sports, including soccer, basketball, paddle, skiing and swimming, just to name a few. But he found his true love in baseball.

Charlie’s love of the game grew and became his passion. His love for pitching meant the world to him. Throughout his treatment, no challenge was insurmountable if it meant he would have the opportunity to get back on the mound, competing with his teammates. In 2019, Charlie was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma after suffering from persistent back pain. This rare pediatric cancer was located in his pelvic bone and surrounding soft tissue. The diagnosis was followed by a year-long treatment protocol of dual chemotherapy and proton radiation therapy. Despite the challenges, Charlie carried on with dignity and a fierce sense of humor. He mowed down his treatments like an absolute champion, with the support of his family and the medical team at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

In late August 2020, Charlie joyfully rang the bell, signifying the end of treatment. After scans revealed no evidence of disease in September, he was declared in remission.

Our family was elated to finally have Charlie see his cancer battle in his rearview mirror. Normal life resumed as much as it could during the simultaneous COVID-19 pandemic.

“We never uttered the word recurrence. We never let our thoughts go there. We were terrified to consider an uncharted path or an unmapped protocol. That is the reality of relapsed Ewing’s. Our ability to fight for the lives of Ewing’s sarcoma patients shouldn’t be limited by the rationale of rare research dollars. No parent should have to tell their child that we’ve run out of options. No patient should have to hear that.”

Sadly, in January 2021, Charlie suffered a seizure, which led to the discovery that his cancer had returned to his brain, with two spots in his frontal lobe.

This return to battle started another round of familiarizing ourselves with the cancer world that we were so happy to leave behind.

Radiation effectively treated the lesions in his brain, but due to the timing of the recurrence, it was challenging to treat. Charlie underwent more chemotherapy, trials and a Phase 1 CAR T-cell immunotherapy treatment at Seattle Children’s Hospital, which proved unsuccessful.

Charlie succumbed to Ewing’s shortly after our return from Seattle. He died peacefully at MSK, surrounded by family and his amazing team of doctors and nurses. The loss of Charlie has left a hole in our hearts that will never mend. There should be more options for patients just like Charlie, and with this collaboration with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, we hope more attention can be focused on this disease. We hope more investigative researchers can get into the field of Ewing’s, unlock its complexities and help us to uncover treatments and curative options that can strike it out for good for individuals just like Charlie.

Through Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, in partnership with the Charlie Landers Foundation, Charlie’s lasting legacy of strength, perseverance, courage, and compassion for others will guide us as he helps those affected by Ewing’s sarcoma.