City of Parkland Honors Resident Fighting Rare Cancer

by Sharon Aron Baron January 20, 2016

by Sharon Aron Baron January 20, 2016 21 views

Adam-fiorello-2

By: Sharon Aron Baron

Friends, family, and acquaintances from all over South Florida are changing their Facebook profile photos on Tuesday in support of Adam Fiorello who is fighting a rare pediatric cancer.

Parkland Mayor Michael Udine has proclaimed it “Adam Fiorello Day,” which happens to be the 22 year-olds birthday.

On Monday, Adam received the news that his cancer, Alvelor Rhabdomyosarcoma, which is extremely rare, and is only diagnosed about 50 times annually in the US, had spread from the outside of his brain to the inside as well. He was told that there is no known cure, and no known treatments to help his condition and very little research is being done because of the rarity of this disease.

Adam shared, “I still feel some determination. My life is expected to end very soon, but I’m not going to let it end who I am. God Bless you all.”

According to updates from his brother Nick in Give Forward, Adam was first diagnosed back in December of 2013, to rule out allergies and eye problems that he was having at the time. The doctor’s visit quickly turned to a recommendation for an MRI, which found a tumor on his sinuses. This led to a biopsy which discovered that it was malignant.

Fiorello family

With a diagnosis of Rhabdomyosarcoma confirmed right around Christmas of that year, the family flew to Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City to see specialists in that area. Within three days, pathology from Florida had been confirmed that his cancer was now Stage 3, Group III, and a Stage 4 protocol was put into place for what would be weeks of intense treatment.

For the past two years, Adam has endured rounds of chemotherapy simultaneously with radiation therapy, including Craniospinal radiation. In September, Adam completed radiation in New York, then flew to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to discuss further options to buy some more time. “Adam now will think, discuss, and make a decision on how he wishes to proceed forward,” wrote his brother Nick Fiorello.

Residents from Coral Springs and all over South Florida are invited to attend the Parkland City Commission meeting Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. to show their support for Adam and his family. To join or support his Cycle For Survival team Team Adam-Parkland, please register online at www.cycleforsurvival.org – click teams, national teams and select Team Adam-Parkland.

Parkland City Hall is located at 6600 University Drive, Parkland FL 33067.

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Sharon Aron Baron

Editor of Talk Media and writer for Coral Springs Talk. CST was created in 2012 to provide News, Views, and Entertainment for the residents of Coral Springs and the rest of South Florida.