Duke Strong: Local benefit to help toddler with cancer
TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Duke James Lucia was born June 23, 2019, to Damian and Jeanna Lucia who now live in Glenwood City, Wis.
Duke’s father, Damian, is the oldest child of Renea Sukow of Merrill and Mike Lucia of Westboro, Wis. Damian grew up living part-time in the Merrill area as a teenager and then following graduation lived in Merrill for a time. He met his wife, Jeanna, in the Medford area. They married and then moved to Glenwood City in 2017, and after many attempts to conceive and carry a baby to full-term, Duke was born.
Damian and Jeanna’s life with their baby boy was pretty typical. Duke was a spunky, outgoing, happy child who loved dinosaurs, tractors, and horses, his grandma, Renea Sukow, said. That is, until last fall when his parents noticed Duke was limping. After taking him to the doctor, x-rays from the waist down revealed nothing unusual, and Duke was diagnosed with a sprained ankle, Renea said.
But Duke didn’t improve. In fact, he declined, and by January 2022, he had stopped walking altogether and began vomiting and not eating. After their toddler had lost about seven pounds, Duke’s parents packed him up and took him to the Mayo Clinic Children’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn, to find out what was going on, Renea said.
On Feb. 21, 2022, Duke had an MRI and that evening doctors discovered a tumor on Duke’s brain. The very next day they did surgery to remove the tumor, and the day after that, it was confirmed that Duke had cancer, Renea said.
Duke was diagnosed with stage 4 medulloblastoma, a cancerous tumor that starts in the lower back part of the brain called the cerebellum, which is involved in muscle coordination, balance, and movement.
This type of cancer can spread rapidly via the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord, to other areas of the brain and spinal cord. This rare cancer most frequently effects young children. Some sources suggest it begins in the fetal embryonic cells in the brain; other sources say the cause is not known.
Duke’s cancer is aggressive and his parents soon learned it had spread to other areas of his brain and spine. “He has 24 spinal tumors bigger than the one in his brain that they removed, and 11 tumors in his brain that are still growing,” Renea said on Monday, March 14. Day by day Duke’s condition is developing, she said. “Things are changing rapidly with the treatment of what’s going on and what’s popping up.”
Duke was scheduled to begin chemotherapy last Thursday, March 10, “but they found leakage out of his spine, so they had to do surgery to put a shunt in instead,” delaying the start of the chemo by several days, she said.
In addition to chemo, Duke will undergo additional treatments to try to slow the growth of all the tumors, which are still growing, and to try to shrink them and prevent additional tumors from forming, but risks are high with this aggressive cancer, and there is a chance that Duke may not walk again. Numerous surgeries, radiation, and stem cell surgery are also likely in his future. Renea said she’s getting a lot of information, yet, “I’m still only getting bits and pieces, because Damian doesn’t have time to explain it all to me.” Things are changing quickly, there is so much information coming at them from the doctors, and things are sometimes “one step forward, two steps back or two steps forward, one step back,” she said. “And even after they get it all under control, there is a 35% chance it could come back within five years.”
Prayers for Duke and his family are welcomed and appreciated, Renea said. Damian and Jeanna are trying to be positive and “have faith in what the doctors are offering for treatment options” for their only child at Mayo Clinic, trying to focus on hope rather than despair.
Family, friends, and co-workers are rallying around the couple and their son. Renea explained that both Damian and Jeanna were working full-time and going to school full-time. Jeanna was a counselor for rehab and continuing her education to attain a higher degree in that field. Damian is a welder at Emperial Bucket and was working full-time while also going to school to become a counselor. Both Damian and Jeanna have now put college on hold, and Jeanna had to quit her job to be with Duke at the hospital. Damian is working a couple days a week to keep some money coming in, Renea said, but sometimes has to leave work to support Jeanna. “His co-workers are giving him their PTO (Paid Time Off) so he can get paid for a 40-hour week. They’ve been just wonderful,” Renea said.
Here in Merrill, Renea Sukow and her husband, Derrick, and Mike Lucia have organized a fundraiser to benefit Duke and his family. “We are not sure when our grandson will be able to go home. Please join us in supporting and raising the much-needed funds to help Duke and his parents during this very difficult time,” they ask.
“Duke Strong,” a benefit for Duke James Lucia, will be held this Saturday, March 19, from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Corning Town Hall, N1563 State Rd 64, west of Merrill. Donations of raffle items are still being accepted for the benefit. [Call Renea at 715.218.0327 or Mike at 715.965.7082.] There will be $8 food plates, raffles and drawings throughout the event, and a DJ at 6:00 p.m.
Monetary donations for the family can also be sent c/o Renea Sukow, 2005 Webster St., Merrill, or to WESTconsin Credit Union, 860 Cedar St., Baldwin, WI 544002 and designated “For Duke Lucia Benefit (1001).”