DENVER — A Denver teen is fighting against cancer with the hopes of not only beating the disease but also playing varsity basketball for East High School.
Denver7 is learning how 14-year-old Max Romero found out he had cancer and how people in the community are chipping in to help Max and his family.
“After his 6th-grade year, we put him into YMCA basketball camps for childcare, and the coaches who had played one in the G League and one in AAU looked at him, and they were like, 'He's got something,'” said Curtis Romero, Max's father.
While balling and playing basketball are Max's passions, life threw him a curve ball recently.
Last September, Max’s parents said he started having bouts of headaches, tiredness, and looking pale that got worse as time went on.
“It started out really innocuous for the first couple of months, and then in January, eyebrows were raised, and they admitted him immediately,” said Amy Gage, Max's mother.
During that visit, Max learned that he had acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which meant he would have to undergo treatment immediately.
“[He receives] at minimum, four, maybe up to eight courses of chemotherapy, which is basically a 10-day chemo cycle followed by a 20-day recovery cycle,” said Curtis Romero.
Even with a long road of treatment ahead, Max is focused on getting back on the court and joining East High School’s varsity basketball team.
Max’s parents say that their friends have set up a GoFundMe to help them with medical and life experiences while they aid in their son’s treatment and recovery.
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