SOUTH DENNIS – Last July, 6-year-old Joey Povio was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer that affects young children.
Retinoblastoma is cancer that starts in the retina, the very back part of the eye. It is the most common type of eye cancer in children, according to the American Cancer Society website.
Two-thirds of all retinoblastoma cases are diagnosed before the age of 2 which has made Povio’s case and prognosis a little more unusual.
Povio almost immediately began chemotherapy with the goal to kill the tumor and save the boy’s eye.
Over time, doctors saw positive results from the chemotherapy and were able to inspect the tumor while the young boy was under anesthesia.
After Povio’s last chemotherapy treatment March 3, doctors were able to immediately check the tumor and deemed it dead. Making Povio, now at age 7, officially cancer-free.
Povio’s mom, Chrissy Povio, explained that her son will be undergoing monitoring and frequent checkups for quite some time. Since he is older than most children with this form of cancer, his full prognosis will come in time.
Povio is doing great and has energy back, she explained. He does have issues with his vision and has developed cataracts for which he will have surgery, but the family is optimistic.
Doctors are also trying a ‘patching’ technique where an eye patch is placed over his good eye trying to retrain his brain to make the weak eye stronger.
The effectiveness of this technique is unknown due to his age, only time will tell.
As he and his older brother Vinnie raced around the playground, mom Chrissy explained how the support of the community had been their backbone through the ordeal.
The support “in good times and bad and kindness from complete strangers is what has kept us positive. We could never thank everyone individually for all the support we’ve been shown. This is a great way to get our appreciation out there and of course celebrate Joey’s good news.”
Povio had strangers coming up giving him high fives and exclaiming “Joey Strong” which had been the young boy’s motto through his fight with cancer.
When asked how he is feeling, Povio looked up, made a muscle and exclaimed “Joey Strong!”
To contact Johanna Hovik, email jhovik@cmcherald.com.
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