Earlier this month a Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School student and his family received the life-changing news he had a germinoma tumour in his brain.
Tyson Courtemanche, 16, first started experiencing symptoms of the tumour three months ago, which included depression and blurry vision. After receiving antidepressants Tyson was able to return to work at FreshCo and his studies at PSO until his deteriorating vision led to his parents rushing him to the hospital for a CT scan, where the tumour was located and diagnosed on Wednesday, March 5.
Tyson's father Jake Courtemanche said this news is hard, especially after his eldest son Cody was diagnosed with the same kind of tumour five years ago. Originally from Alberta, Courtemanche and his family have lived in Lac La Hache since 2023.
"My oldest son had a brain tumour five years ago and he just got transferred to adult care and the day before he got transferred to adult care we found out my second oldest son has a brain tumour," Courtemanche said. "Now we're fighting that."
Germinoma tumour is a tumour formed when germ cells meant to migrate to the reproductive organs, to become sperm or eggs, get trapped within the brain or nervous system during fetal development. There they can start to divide creating a tumour which can, depending on its location in the brain, disrupt or accelerate puberty, create nausea and headaches and impact vision. They are most commonly found in children and adolescents, primarily in males.
While Tyson's condition is serious, it is treatable but will require chemotherapy and radiation to reduce its size so doctors can operate on it. Tyson is currently at the Vancouver Children's Hospital, with Courtemanche noting this is being done to try and save his vision as his tumour is placing pressure on his optic nerve and pineal gland.
Following the diagnosis, close family friend and adoptive aunt of Tyson, Saldana Bauman of Duncan, created a GoFundMe to help the family out during this time of need. Bauman said she has been close friends with Tyson's mom Marianne for 30 years. She noted that Marianne is also the primary source of income for the family but during this time she wants to be at Tyson's side.
The Go-Fund-Me is designed to help the family pay for the cost of fuel to go down for Tyson's treatments and hotel expenses. Bauman said she saw what the financial burden on the family was when Cody went through the same thing.
"I'm really hoping to get the word out there and hopefully get them some financial aid to help so that not be a worry for them," Bauman said. "(The Go-Fund-Me) would alleviate so much stress and their focus can then just be on Tyson's health as opposed to Tyson's health and the financial implications."
Bauman said another concern she and Tyson's parents share is what this means for Cody and Tyson's other two siblings. A germinoma tumour is rare enough to begin with, let alone two in two children from the same family.
"She is worried this is something that is hereditary that the other ones have? It's a lot," Bauman said.
Courtemanche said Tyson requires at least four months of chemo followed by radiation, which may need to take place in Seattle. He said he and his family would appreciate any money the community can donate during their time of need.
"Other than Cody and Tyson we do have two other children, Johnathan and Laura. My other kids aren't knowledgeable enough to stay on their own for days on end," Courtemanche said. "I love all my kids, just the way they are, and I'll try to do anything I can to save them and help them."
Bauman's GoFundMe is called Tyson’s fight with a rare Brain Tumour and can be found at gofundme.com/f/tysons-fight-with-a-rare-brain-tumour. It has a goal of $14,000 and as of Monday, March 17, it has raised $560.
"Having any child undergo a devastating diagnosis, is any parent's worst nightmare. As a community, and the whole of us being human compassion is a beautiful trait we all hold dear for one another, especially children. I know our economy is taxing on all of us, so it was very hard to ask for assistance when I know so many of us are just trying to make ends meet ourselves," Bauman said. "Know that there is no donation that is too small, as every cent raised goes towards eliminating some of the ever-mounting financial burden this family will face in the next few months."
