03/14/2026
Hunter update for March 13 &14, 2026
It’s been a bit since we posted a detailed medical update on Hunter.
Hunter just completed round 5 of his chemotherapy and we are gearing up for Limb salvage surgery.
Limb salvage surgery is set at Dana Farber in Boston on April 14. Dana Farber is one of the top rated hospitals in the US for Ewing Sarcoma. His surgeon, Dr Megan Anderson has seen and worked on cases similar to Hunter’s in the past. She and the team are very knowledgeable and experienced. As Hunter gets closer to his surgery he has one more five day, four night stay in hospital. Following that they will lighten his chemotherapy doses so his blood counts can remain stable and he is better able to cope with the major surgery on his arm. They are also preparing by getting more images through various scans to plan where they need to cut the bone and how they need to prepare the cadaver bone. If you’re just seeing our story, the Ewing Sarcoma tumor is in Hunter’s upper right arm. They will cut out the part of the arm bone that contains the tumor and replace it with a cadaver bone. They already have the cadaver bone reserved in the bone bank. The team at Dana Farber is confident they can remove the tumor with clear margins, which will mean no need for radiation. Following this surgery his chemo will be paused for a few weeks. His body’s job following the surgery is to allow the bone to heal. About three months after surgery he will begin PT and OT to regain function and will have to learn to write again, since the tumor is in his dominant arm. If everything runs on time, Hunter should finish chemo at the middle to end of August but his fight will not be over. He will be an orthopedic patient for the rest of his life. Due to the high rate of reoccurrence of this type of cancer, Ewing Sarcoma patients are closely monitored and he will undergo frequent scans to keep watch. After 5 years with no evidence of disease (NED), Hunter will finally be considered a survivor and officially be in survivorship.
During round five of chemotherapy Hunter used Healios mouthwash and did some cryotherapy (ate ice during the chemo drips) to prevent mouth sores. It seems to have worked, thank goodness! The mouth sores were so severe after round three’s VDC that it affected his voice and he could not eat and had a hard time sleeping.
We were told at the beginning of this that dealing with treatment is like going to a restaurant that doesn’t have menus but you still have to tell them what you want. We are figuring it out, but it has not been easy. Hunter’s parents have to constantly advocate. They tell you not to Google anything but if you don’t, you don’t know what to ask for or do for things like mouth sores.
After last week’s VDC (vincristine/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide/etoposide), Hunter required both a blood transfusion and platelets. We were pretty surprised because he had been feeling pretty decent. Hunters parents have been requesting more frequent checks on his levels so as not to be delayed for chemotherapy again like he was in mid February.
Going through cancer and the treatment has been a rollercoaster ride. One day, Hunter is ice fishing and the next day he’s just so sick from the treatment and then the next day he’s fist bumping his heroes at the best Sabres game of the season. We definitely enjoyed the spring like weather we had while we had it as well.
Please continue to pray and send positive vibes out to Hunter for healing. I’m not sugar coating it, this kid has lost his child hood. He’s going through things no kid should have to go through. He’s been ripped away from school, hockey, his friends and his cousin crew. We try our best to get him time with his cousins but everyone has to be healthy and it’s just not like it was before.
We greatly appreciate the letters and cards he gets from his classmates and other kids. Shout out to those parents who are doing that. Those cards get opened first. Please let your kids know it’s a challenge for Hunter to write back, but we appreciate it so very much.
I’ll try to be better at updating. We continue the fight.
** Hunter is an 8 year old hockey nut who was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, on January 5, 2026. He was previously misdiagnosed on 9/27/25, when his parents were told he had a healing fracture. The Xray report obtained from September, specifically stated “no evidence of fracture”. Hunter was referred to an orthopedic group in Syracuse in September but slipped through the cracks as his referral got lost, wasting precious time, time when he could have been fighting this aggressive cancer. Parents please ask to see all medical reports yourselves and chase referrals. It’s so important. Advocate for your child. Be relentless.
Hunter faces a long hard battle with a rigorous chemotherapy regimen known as interval compression. He faces limb salvage surgery to remove the tumor and replace a large portion of his humerus bone with a cadaver bone. After his surgery his body’s job is to allow the bone to heal for a few months. He will then begin PT and OT . He will need to relearn some things, like how to write. His chemotherapy will last into August as long as there are no delays in treatment. He will be an orthopedic patient for the rest of his life. Due to the high rate of reoccurrence of this type of cancer, Ewing Sarcoma patients are closely monitored and he will undergo frequent scans to keep watch. After 5 years with no evidence of disease (NED), Hunter will finally be considered a survivor and officially be in survivorship. This kid has a huge fight ahead of him. We know we have an army behind him. Our hockey family and community has proven that we are One Team One Fight.
Cards to cheer and encourage Hunter can be sent to
Hunter Stoffel
PO Box 146
Mannsville, NY 13661
