West Deer family pays it forward with fundraiser for fellow child with cancer

At barely 7 months old, Noah Latronica was diagnosed with brain cancer.

“It was just one of those out-of-body experiences,” said his mother, Sara Jane Latronica, 28, of West Deer.

Latronica and her husband, Nick, realized something was wrong a few months after Noah’s birth on June 9, 2016. Noah was constantly vomiting and couldn’t hold down any solids or breast milk. His head tilted to one side.

“We had been fighting with the pediatrician and several different specialists saying there’s something going on with our baby,” said Sara Jane Latronica.

The Latronicas found out Noah had a brain tumor during a visit to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. They had taken him there for an emergency gastroenterology appointment because he was vomiting. Noah was admitted, and the hospital gave him fluids and ran tests, including a CT scan.

Mom and dad accompanied their son for the scan. When they got back to his room, a doctor they hadn’t seen before was waiting for them. With tears in his eyes, he told the Latronicas that Noah had a tumor the size of a baseball on his brain. He needed surgery right away.

“He looked at us and said, ‘I’m so sorry,’ ” Latronica recalls.

Noah was whisked away to the operating room to relieve pressure on his brain caused by a backup of spinal fluid. The backup had been causing the vomiting and the head tilt.

Latronica collapsed on the way to a waiting room. She was confused and terrified.

“It was just, like, the most excruciating feeling ever,” she said. “You can’t protect your baby from stuff like this.”

A short time later, Noah was diagnosed with ependymoma, a rare form of brain cancer. The Latronicas were told he wouldn’t make it five years past his diagnosis.

Noah recently turned 4 and is doing really well.

Latronica said her son is goofy and energetic. He has had three brain surgeries, numerous rounds of high-dose chemo­therapy and radiation treatments.

He thinks having an MRI is normal.

“It’s pretty crazy to think about all that he’s been through,” Latronica said.

Noah has been in remission twice, but his cancer is recurring. Most recently, he was diagnosed with a tumor on his brain stem and three more on his spine.

Because there is no cure for Noah’s condition, the Latronicas want to focus on preserving his quality of life for as long as they can without more surgeries, radiation or high-dose chemotherapy.

They have enrolled him in a clinical trial at Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta. As part of the trial, Noah receives immunotherapy and low-dose chemotherapy.

“We just decided that, for now, we wanted to do the trial and see if it works to keep the tumors stable for a couple years before we need to go down any other optional road,” Latronica said.

The community has rallied behind the Latronicas over the years, holding fundraisers to help them financially.

Paying it forward

The family wanted to pay that kindness forward by holding a fundraiser for another family whose child has cancer. They picked the Masciantonio family of Moon Township. Their daughter, Emmy, has an atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, a very rare and extremely aggressive form of brain cancer.

“We’ve had so many people give back to us,” Latronica said. “We were like, ‘You know what? This September, let’s give it back and do something for another family.’ ”

Latronica met Emmy’s mother, Casey Masciantonio, through a Facebook support group for parents of children with brain and spine tumors.

The two began chatting, and Latronica decided Emmy would be the perfect candidate for the fundraiser.

Casey Masciantonio said the fundraiser and support she has received from other families has been the light in an otherwise dark time. Emmy turned 1 on Aug. 16. The family received her diagnosis less than a month later.

“We’ve found so much comfort in connecting with others who have been in a similar situation like the Latronica family,” said Masciantonio, 31. “Right away I was able to connect with Sara on an emotional level. You never expect to be in this situation so you hold onto any hope you can find, and Noah’s story really provided us that.”

‘Never Stop Fighting’

The Latronicas are selling shirts that say “Never Stop Fighting” with a yellow ribbon. The shirts are being made by Antler Grafix in West Deer.

Antler Grafix owner Bonnie Lubatti has known the Latronicas all her life. She said she is happy to help them do something special for Emmy’s family.

The fundraiser began about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11. The store sold $2,000 worth of shirts in the first 10 hours.

“We just got bombarded,” Lubatti said. “It was crazy.”

Lubatti said she is not surprised by the response: It’s what the residents of West Deer do.

“It was really heartwarming to see that everybody stepped up and did what I knew they would do,” Lubatti said.

There is no end date for the fundraiser. All proceeds will go toward the Masciantonios.

“It will be ongoing until there’s no more orders,” Latronica said.

Latronica said her family opted for the shirts because they had done them in the past for Noah. The shirts have Noah’s name on them.

On Facebook: Noah’s Story

Latronica said they chose to do that because Noah already has hundreds of supporters. About 1,800 people follow Noah’s Facebook page, Noah’s Story, which shares information about Noah’s cancer journey.

Latronica said this is something her family would like to continue to do.

“I think that we’ve finally hit a place with Noah’s treatment where we’re kind of at this standstill. We’re comfortable where we are, and we wanted to be able to provide for somebody else,” Latronica said.

Emmy is an inpatient at UPMC Children’s. Her family hopes she’ll be able to come home by Thanksgiving.

“Noah and his parents and family have never stopped fighting this war against pediatric brain cancer, and we plan to do the exact same,” Masciantonio said.