The story of a young boy and his fight with the disease that took his father’s life

STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDY HOLMBERG

Masen Lopes runs around with his siblings, jumping on the trampoline and showing off his ‘Nae Nae’ dance. The zigzagged scars on the right side of his skull, accentuated by his mohawk, are seemingly the only marks his battle has left him.

In September 2013, just eight months after his father, Lloyd Lopes, passed away from anaplastic astrocytoma, 5-year-old Masen was diagnosed with the same disease.

Brain cancer.

Masen, now seven, is one of four children in the Lopes family. Living in Gig Harbor, Washington, he commutes regularly with his mother, Kainani Lopes, to Seattle Children’s Hospital for treatment. Masen fights his cancer with three different chemotherapies, seizure medication, antibiotics and medical marijuana.

The Monsters

“One day I got a call from his professor saying that Lloyd fainted in school and they were sending him to the nurse,” Kainani says with anguish. “They thought it was just exhaustion.”

One week later, the Lopes’ family changed forever.

At 24-years-old, with four kids under the age of seven, all Kainani wanted was for her children to see their father.

“I can’t even explain to you how much my heart broke that day,” Kainani says. “A week later they told us it was brain cancer and it was inoperable.”

Ever since that day, the Lopes family has been in and out of hospitals.

Anaplastic astrocytoma is a rare malignant brain tumor most commonly found in adults with no known causes, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. It usually develops slowly over time and puts pressure on different parts of the brain, causing various symptoms. Astrocytoma’s are classified in four grades based on how fast the cells reproduce.

Grade I or II are nonmalignant and are referred to as low-grade. Grade III or IV astrocytoma’s are known as glioblastoma multiforme.

The prognosis and median survival for glioblastoma multiforme in adults is about 14.6 months. Patients with glioblastoma have a 2 percent chance of surviving upward of three years according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. However, children with grade III and IV glioblastoma tend do to better than adults.

The family spent time in San Francisco for Lloyd’s treatments. Throughout this time, he stayed faithful to his favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers. It had always been a dream of his to take his family to a 49ers game, a dream that would come true only after his passing.

On Jan. 18, 2013 Lloyd passed away, 18 months after his diagnosis.

That year, the 49ers went to the Super Bowl.

“I remember watching the Super Bowl with my kids parked in front of the TV in their jerseys and the stadium lights went out. The hairs on the back of my neck and arms stood straight up. Masen and Rylen turned around to look at me and told me ‘Look mommy it’s daddy, he’s trying to help our team out, he turned the lights off!’” Kainani says.

Hope

Masen had his first seizure at 5-years-old, shortly after Lloyd’s passing, and was then diagnosed with the same disease.

“My heart went from being broken to being ripped out and stomped on and broken into a million pieces,” Kainani says.

Since being diagnosed, Masen has had two surgeries to remove golf-ball-sized tumors and has undergone multiple chemotherapies, proton therapy and radiology treatments.

“There’s monsters making me sick,” Masen says, describing his cancer.

The 49ers have had a huge impact on the life Masen and have given his family memories they will never forget. Masen represents them by wearing a 49ers jersey into every surgery.

Over the summer of 2015, his dream of going to the 49ers game started to come together. It all started with the Austen Everett Foundation, one that empowers kids fighting cancer by uniting them with teams.

Honored by the 49ers, Masen delivered the game ball before the Dec. 20, 2015 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Masen’s dream had come true as he beamed his missing two front teeth smile, and with a football in one arm and his other pulling up his oversized pants, Masen sprinted to the center of the Levi’s Stadium.

Back in Gig Harbor, Masen continues to brave his monsters.

“I purposely didn’t ask for Masen’s prognosis because I don’t want to know,” Kainani says, shrugging her shoulders as she explains. “It wouldn’t make a difference in our lives, we know how fragile life is and we know to enjoy the little things.”

Rylen, Leland, Masen and Azzy live as if they had never heard about cancer before. The sadness and unknown that come with disease doesn’t affect their lives. Because of the troubles they have experienced, Masen has fulfilled a good majority of his wish list.

Masen hopes to buy a boat, do his ‘Nae Nae’ dance on TV, create a Nike shoe and do everything else on his wish list.

“The community has been amazing. They bought the new roof on our house we live in now and have helped out so much with my family,” Kainani says. “I can’t really work because I am so busy with the kids and everything. It’s amazing what people will do for us.”

The cancer that took the father, husband and the rock of their family has taught them more than they know.

“I remember how strong my dad was and I like to look at his pictures in my room,” Masen says. “I just think about how much I love him.”

As Masen keeps on fighting, he has someone very important watching over him.