A clinical trial funded by ALSF saved his life. Now this young boy is thriving on the field.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philip Steigerwald was diagnosed with the same type of cancer that Alex Scott had. He got the last spot in a clinical trial funded by Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. The clinical trial saved Philip's life.
Philip is fired up for sports camp, especially baseball.
"Shortstop, outfield, first base, and pitching and catching," Philip said.
He's an All-Star on the field and a survivor too.
Right before his third birthday, Philip had a tonsillectomy.
"The doctor came out afterward and said, 'We took his tonsils out, but that wasn't the issue, there was an almond-sized tumor behind his tonsils," dad Jeff Steigerwald said.
Phillip was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma.
A week later, he began the first of several rounds of chemotherapy before doctors recommended the Steigerwalds come to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to see Dr. Yael Mossé, who was doing a clinical trial for the same type of cancer.
"We didn't know anything about the fact that the trial was funded by Alex's until we met with Dr. Mossé," mom Wendy Steigerwald said. "He was on the trial and the trial was working."
"After Dr. Mossé told us about Alex's funding the trial, we started digging in a little more online trying to see what Alex's was all about," Jeff said. "Philip wouldn't be sitting here without that trial."
Funding from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation led to CHOP's research to find more precise therapies for children with neuroblastoma.
Alex, whose dream was to help find a cure for cancer, lost her battle with neuroblastoma.
"If Alex would have had this diagnosis now, she could be sitting here," Wendy said. "It was because they did all the fundraising and they have the funds available so Dr. Mossé and the whole team could do the research to get Philip and other kids like him to this point."
The families met on what would have been Alex's birthday, united over the love for their children and the dream to help others.
"As soon as I met Liz," Steigerwald said, "I thought, it just felt like a mom hugging another mom and she was so happy for us."
"We're really hopeful because of kids like Philip and we've seen new cures for kids becoming a reality for kids who would have been incurable before," Liz Scott said, "but that not happening for all kids, not nearly for all kids. What those successes do is tell us that its possible to change things for each and every kid."
Miracle makers thanks to funding and support from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and a little girl with a big dream that other kids could live cancer-free.
"I mean, we could never thank them enough for what Alex's Lemonade Stand has done," Jeff said.
