$100K grant given to help fight rare cancer affecting several local families

WASHINGTON CO., Pa. — A ray of hope came for a local mother on Tuesday as her son continued his last leg of chemotherapy.

Christine Barton's son, Mitch, suffers from Ewing's sarcoma – a rare cancer responsible for causing bone tumors.

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And Mitch is now getting more attention after two representatives secured a $100,000 grant for UPMC to perform research on patients and families across Western Pennsylvania.

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"Hopefully, with more research maybe something will get found out," said Christine Barton. "They really don't know much about Ewing's, so we're hopeful."

While there are only 200 cases of this rare disease each year, in the past 10 years, six people with ties to the Canon-McMillan School District have been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma.

One of those taken by the disease was Mitch's friend, Luke Blanock, who passed away in 2016.

Barton said she is looking forward to talking with officials from state health department at an upcoming meeting.

Cox Media Group