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Family of 'Lucas Bear,' 5, Asks Latinos to Donate Bone Marrow

By Kelly Bauer | September 22, 2015 3:46pm
 Lucas Cervone, who is 5 years old, needs a stem donation for treatment as he undergoes a second battle with leukemia.
Lucas Cervone, who is 5 years old, needs a stem donation for treatment as he undergoes a second battle with leukemia.
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Faceebook/Lucas Bear Heroes

CHICAGO — The family of a Belmont Cragin boy who is battling leukemia is calling on Chicago's Latino community to donate blood and sign up for bone marrow donations.

Lucas Cervone, 5, was first diagnosed with a form of leukemia in 2012, his father, Anthony Cervone, said. Lucas underwent chemotherapy, taking his last pill on June 21 of this year. He was diagnosed with a different form of leukemia just months later, and he's in need of bone marrow and blood donations.

Anthony and his wife are not a match for their son, but he said because Lucas is Latino there is a greater chance that a Latino donor would match him. They will also need people who match Lucas' blood type to donate, as he will need frequent blood transfusions once he receives a bone marrow donations, Anthony said.

On Tuesday, Anthony and his wife, Rina, were in the hospital with Lucas, prepping for a round of chemotherapy. Elsewhere, City Council members who represent large Latino populations called for the community to donate blood more frequently. They reached out to the Cervones.

"Because Lucas is mixed race (both White and Hispanic), it is even more difficult to identify a viable donor," Anthony wrote in his statement to the aldermen. "This is why it is so important to reach out to the Hispanic community. The majority of donors in the registry are Caucasian. Hispanics have an 83 percent chance of finding a donor. Those sound like decent odds, but they could easily be 100 percent if we just educated our community on the importance of not only bone marrow registry but blood donation."

Lucas' fight with cancer stretches back to 2012. Just weeks after his treatment ended in 2015, Lucas started to bruise, Anthony said. He'd had a chronic cough, but now the way it sounded changed.

Anthony and Rina exchanged emails with doctors. They had an appointment for Lucas scheduled on July 21. They were just trying to make it to that appointment, Anthony said.

But, Lucas was having a hard time breathing while getting ready for day care on July 20. Anthony and Rina took him to the emergency room. A few hours later, a doctor told them Lucas once again had a form of leukemia, Anthony said.

Now, they are holding a blood drive where volunteers can test to see if they are a match for Lucas or anyone else in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Seeing if you're a match for Lucas — or anyone who needs a donation — is free and quick: The inside of your cheek is swabbed with a tool that resembles a Q-tip, and the DNA on the swab is added to the Be the Match registry so you can be informed if you match anyone in need of a donation in the future. You can also sign up online to get a free testing kit mailed to your house.

Ace Hardware, where Anthony works, will hold a blood drive for the Cervones 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 440 N. Orleans. Anyone who donates blood at the drive or donates at any Chicago-area LifeSource before Oct. 31 will receive a coupon for $5 off any purchase of $15 or more at Chicago-area Ace Hardware stores.

Click here for more information.

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