Jan 30, 2009 11:30 pm US/Eastern
Rare Cancer Mysteriously Strikes Beverly Boys
BEVERLY (WBZ) ―
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Erik West is undergoing a five-day chemotherapy treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.
Warner Bros. Television
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Michael Petrosino, back home in Beverly, has almost fully recovered after the same kind of treatment.
WBZ
They live in the same town, go to the same high school, and were born in the same week at the same hospital.
Now, two 16-year-old boys from Beverly share the most difficult experience of their young lives.
They were both diagnosed with the same kind of rare cancer in the same part of their bodies. It's called
Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of cancer usually found in children and young adults.
The cancer showed up as a malignant tumor in the same place on the right side of both boys' pelvises.
Erik West is now undergoing a five-day chemotherapy treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.
Michael Petrosino, back home in Beverly, has almost fully recovered after the same kind of treatment.
"It's an awful big coincidence when they told us only 150 a year in the U.S. and here you have two buddies, same place, same town. It's odd," said West's father, Jim West.
West says he couldn't do it without Petrosino's support and inspiration. Not only does Petrosino give his friend advice, but also shows it's possible to survive.
"Just stay positive. Don't give up. I'm living proof that you can survive," Petrosino said.
Now the two boys and their families are going through their memory banks trying to unlock the medical mystery.
Was there any possible link that may have exposed them to the risk of cancer, or is it a big coincidence?
They don't have the answer now, but they do know there are only about 150 cases reported in the country every year.
The cause of Ewing's sarcoma is unknown, and doctors can't say if the two cases are linked.
HIGH NUMBER OF CASES ON CAPE
Massachusetts is no stranger to Ewing's sarcoma.
Since 2002, six children from Falmouth to Brewster have been diagnosed with the rare cancer, something state officials admit is an elevated number.
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