Kyle and Rachel Quinceys lives changed forever in late March when their 15-month-old son was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Two surgeries later, following many days of chemotherapy, Alx will continue radiation treatment in a Philadelphia hospital for another month while his parents wait for positive results.
They were encouraged by the second operation in June, in which 99 percent of the tumor was removed. But the fight is far from over.
It was really hard at the start, but very quickly it becomes your new normal, Quincey said. Really only one option, just being positive and grinding it out day by day.
Quincey played 10-plus years in the NHL, including five full seasons and parts of three others as a defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings. He retired from hockey in 2019.
Alx Quincey became ill in March, requiring multiple trips to the hospital. They suspected it was an ear infection or just a cold or the flu and administered antibiotics. On the third visit, on March 30, an emergency room nurse suggested a CAT scan.
Thats the first time we saw the mass, Quincey said in an interview with MLive. Things werent going well for about a month. He started showing symptoms and it took us about three weeks to get that CAT scan. You take the normal precautions first.
Axl was diagnosed with ependymoma. It is a type of tumor that can form in the brain or spinal cord. It begins in the ependymal cells in the brain and spinal cord that line the passageways where the fluid that nourishes your brain flows, according to the Mayo Clinics web site. Ependymoma can occur at any age, but most often occurs in young children.
Alx Quincey, the 14-month-old son of former Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey, has had two surgeries to remove a brain tumor. (courtesy of Kyle Quincey)
The initial surgery April 2 in Denver removed about one-third of the tumor. That was followed by two months of chemotherapy.
The first (procedure) was kind of immediate, to relieve all the symptoms, the pressure he was in a lot of discomfort for three weeks before we could figure out what it was, Quincey said. It was blocking all of his spinal fluid from draining.
Took a while to recover from that. He started chemo when he became well enough to do so and the whole plan was to get the second surgery. We found out we needed every cell of this tumor gone or it will just come back, so it was very important to find a surgeon we felt comfortable with, being aggressive enough to get every single cell out and also being safe enough to not damage the brain stem and all the other nerves.
The Quinceys have another son, 2 year-old Stone. Family life has been significantly disrupted.
Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, it was a long time before the two boys were together or even his mom got to come home because she was living in the hospital for so long, Quincey said. It was very hard, and then I wasnt allowed in the hospital at the same time because only one parent is allowed at a time.
After much research, the Quinceys decided on Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and Dr. Jay Storm for the second surgery, which took 22 hours.
Hes a miracle worker, Quincy said. He scraped the tumor off the nerves, making sure he didnt damage any of the nerves of the brain stem.
Alx just completed day seven of 30 days of radiation therapy, which he undergoes Monday through Friday.
Hes under anesthesia every morning, Quincey said. It takes three hours (but) the actual session is probably seconds. It takes a long time to get it in the perfect spot because theyre actually hitting millimeters from the brain stem. Its very precise. Most of the time its just getting him sedated and comfortable and in the right spot.
Alx Quincey, the 14-month-old son of former Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey, is undergoing radiation treatments for a brain tumor. (courtesy of Kyle Quincey)
The next step, Quincey said, is pretty much just cross your fingers.
The surgery was a success, Quincey said. Hes confident in saying he got 99 percent out. Theres a little mark on the MRI theyre not 100 percent sure about; the radiation is focusing on that spot now.
Quincey is grateful to Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott for allowing them to stay at his home while he was away. If all goes well, the family will return home to Denver late next month. Then they will wait a couple of weeks before taking Alx for another MRI.
At that MRI were really hoping we get some good news and they say cancer-free, Quincey said. If not, we just take it from there and we keep the fight going. Its kind of one step at a time. When we got the diagnosis there were a lot of hoops to jump through and weve jumped through a few of them, not really thinking about what the next step is because this is kind of the last step they gave us in the first protocol.
Whatever news they receive next month, Alx will continue to be closely monitored for some time.
He has an MRI every three months until hes 5 and then every six months until hes 26, Quincey said. Hes not out of the woods, really ever, because this is such an aggressive tumor. But we feel we got a really good team and a good plan and were just executing it right now.
The Red Wings drafted Quincey in the fourth round in 2003 out of London (OHL). He played three seasons for AHL Grand Rapids, where he met Rachel, who is from Luther, Mich., in 2006. They were married 10 years later in Detroit, following Quinceys final season with the Red Wings.
After playing for three teams over the next two years (New Jersey, Columbus and Minnesota), Quincey spent the 2018-19 season in Finland with HIFK Helsinki before retiring at age 33.
My body just wasnt up for it, Quincey said, adding, I couldnt imagine being gone for this.
The Quinceys are in the process of starting a foundation to benefit childhood cancer. Haley Fowler, the wife of friend Paul Stastny, who plays for Vegas, contacted a company that produces t-shirts and crew necks that say, Team Ax.
We saw such a huge response, me and Rachel decided to start Team Ax Foundation, with proceeds to help childhood cancer, Quincey said.
We wanted to use our platform and all of our contacts to do good. We kind of found our calling, or the calling found us. Its just coming into fruition now.
Read this article:
15-month-old son of former Red Wing Kyle Quincey battling brain cancer - MLive.com
