Crossroads Magazine
Zach Till is a survivor. He has fought cancer not once, but twice. He has undergone surgery, two rounds of chemotherapy treatments, radiation therapy and multiple hospital stays. And he is only eight years old.
Cancer has been a part of Zach’s life since the day he was born. He was only 23 hours old when doctors in Montgomery discovered something unusual during his well-baby check-up on February 17, 1998. While everything appeared normal, the attending physician felt something unusual on Zach’s right kidney – a stage V Wilms’ tumor, a form of pediatric kidney cancer. The next day Zach was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, where he underwent surgery to remove the kidney. It was also at this time that doctors found a non-cancerous spot on his remaining kidney. At this point, Zach was only four days old.
“It was hard to believe that a baby could be born with a tumor,” says Tammy Till, Zach’s mother. “It was devastating news, but we couldn’t dwell on that. We had to hit the ground running.”
Zach recovered from the surgery quickly and never looked back. His remaining kidney functioned perfectly. Because the other one had been removed when he was such a young age, it was as if Zach’s body never even knew that it had two kidneys. The remaining kidney simply functioned at the level of two. Zach returned to Children’s periodically for check-ups under the care of Thomas Howard, M.D., Director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Senior Scientist. The spot on his kidney was closely monitored, and for two years Zach was like any other toddler.
In October 2000 when Zach was two, he was diagnosed with another Wilms’ tumor. This time the tumor was inoperable because of its location on his only kidney, so Zach began chemotherapy at Children’s. He tolerated the treatments well, and six months later, the cancer was gone. Life soon returned to normal for Zach and his parents in their hometown of Braggs.
Cancer Returns
In August 2003, just days before Zach was to begin kindergarten, a check-up revealed devastating news – Zach’s cancer, another Wilms’ tumor, had returned. “In some ways, that diagnosis was worse than the first,” Tammy says. “But we knew what we were dealing with, and that we’d just have to be strong and do what we had to do.” Dr. Howard and his colleagues decided on an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy that would require Zach to be admitted to the hospital for a few days approximately every three weeks to receive the treatments. It was also determined that he would undergo 12 radiation treatments at the Cancer Center.
One particular challenge Zach faced during these treatments was that his immune system was weakened because of the medicine, often requiring him to be admitted to the hospital between treatments to receive blood infusions. “It was very difficult because we had to keep him isolated so he wouldn’t get sick,” Tammy recalls. “Cancer definitely changes so many aspects in both good and bad ways. You savor the simple, everyday occurrences that could easily slip away, but the slightest sickness or injury brings all the feelings of nervousness and anxiety to the surface.”
Throughout the chemotherapy and radiation, however, Zach handled everything in stride. “Zach is a special boy,” Dr. Howard says. “He has never been a fusser. He just keeps on keeping on.” Tammy recalls one day when, as Zach was lying in the hospital bed receiving a treatment, he leaned back and said, “This is the life.” That attitude still amazes his parents. “Some of his observations about life just blow me away,” his father Dan says. “He handled that time like a true champion, in a way that we learned so much from.”
Zach completed his last chemotherapy treatment in May 2004, marking the occasion with a luau-themed party in his hospital room. When leaving Children’s Hospital, he even stopped, looked back and shouted, “See ya, suckers!” He has remained cancer-free ever since.
A Cancer Ambassador
Upon completing his treatments, Zach and his parents went to Disney World to celebrate on a trip from Magic Moments, an organization that is dedicated to granting wishes to children who have undergone life-altering illnesses. Zach had been looking forward to the trip during his treatments, and the trip was worth the wait. “It was the experience of a lifetime,” Tammy says. “To see Zach so happy and doing ‘kid’ stuff was the biggest blessing we could have received. It was worth a million dollars to see him swimming with the dolphins.”
Zach’s parents are thankful that Zach was brought to Birmingham for his treatment from the beginning, and they credit UAB and Children’s Hospital with Zach’s success. “You just have to have faith in God, trust all the health care professionals and just know you’re in a good place,” Tammy says. “We couldn’t have received treatment anywhere better. We were blessed to be so close to home because that helped keep our family together.” She adds that Dr. Howard and his staff are practically part of the family. Adds Zach, “I thought they were really nice doctors. I really liked them.”
Zach has now become a spokesperson of sorts for both the Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital. He has participated in the Children’s Miracle Network’s annual telethon and several of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life races in area communities. Most recently, he and Tammy participated in the fundraising DVD for the Cancer Center’s Rays of Hope Campaign for the new radiation oncology facility. The new building will have a special waiting area specifically for children, which Zach is excited about. “I’d like to see lots of games and toys for the kids to play with,” he says.
While Tammy admits that this is not the road she and her family would have chosen, they are stronger and more thankful for what they have gone through. “Having to face a situation like this makes you live your faith and trust like you have never trusted before,” she says. “People say we’ll forget about all of this one day, but I never want to forget. It’s part of our lives – the best of times and the worst of times all rolled into one.”
Today, Zach is a typical eight-year-old boy who loves being outdoors, whether it involves playing football or swimming or riding his bicycle. He also enjoys being a big brother to three-year-old Drew and new baby sister Anna Grace.
“I truly believe that one of the ‘gifts’ of this life-changing thing called cancer is that you have to find your blessings where they lie. Our hearts are forever changed for the better because of this,” Tammy says. “Every day when I look at Zach, I think about what a miracle he is and how blessed we are. Not many people get the chance to know or meet their heroes. We’re raising ours.”