Archie Down: Townsville family’s ‘living nightmare’ as neck lump turns out to be rare cancer

A brave Queensland toddler is in the fight of his life after what doctors initially diagnosed as tonsillitis turned out to be an aggressive tumour the size of a golf ball in his neck.

In January this year, one-year-old Archie Down from Townsville was diagnosed with malignant rhabdoid cancer, a rare, highly aggressive childhood cancer.

A brave toddler is in the fight of his life after what doctors initially diagnosed as tonsillitis turned out to be an aggressive tumour the size of a golf ball in his neck.

One-year-old Archie Down was taken to the GP by his parents Kelly Kuipers and Jordan Down after they noticed he was struggling to swallow on December 28.

He was initially misdiagnosed with severe tonsillitis, and they took him home only to return ten days later because he was dehydrated and not drinking water due to his swollen throat.

After feeling a lump in Archie’s throat, the GP sent him to the emergency department at Townsville University Hospital on January 8.

In January this year, one-year-old Archie Down from Townsville was diagnosed with malignant rhabdoid cancer, a rare, highly aggressive childhood cancer.

“A pediatric doctor looked in his mouth and said he needed to be admitted immediately because she thought he’d had a stroke and his tongue had deteriorated on one side,” Ms Kuipers.

Two days later, the Derragun toddler was flown down to Brisbane Children’s Hospital, where he was eventually diagnosed with malignant rhabdoid tumour, a rare, highly aggressive childhood cancer.

Ms Kuipers said her son’s golf-ball-sized tumour located on the right side of his neck was wrapped around the main carotid artery, making surgery and radiation treatment very difficult.

“It’s been literally a living nightmare,” she said.

In January this year, one-year-old Archie Down from Townsville was diagnosed with malignant rhabdoid cancer, a rare, highly aggressive childhood cancer.

“But Archie has been such a trooper. Honestly, when people meet him, they say he’s one of the happiest little kids they haven’t met.”

After spending four months in hospital, more than 1300km away from home, Archie’s family is now looking to get him over to Florida for proton therapy — a type of radiotherapy that uses proton particles, rather than X-rays, to destroy cancer cells with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue and organs.

“Because of his age, the tumour’s location and how aggressive it is. If we don’t have proton radiation therapy, it will fry his brain pretty much,” Ms Kuipers said.

Jordan Down and Kelly Kuipers with their son Archie Down from Derragun.

“They create a special helmet, and it’s just targeted at the tumour site.”

The hope is to get him to the US for treatment after he completes his chemo in Brisbane and possible surgery.

“We’re having problems with his pain at the moment. They think it’s pushing on a nerve and causing him to be quite hysterical,” Ms Kuipers said.

“There’s a meeting on Friday to possibly look a surgery to release some of the nerves before we look at going to America for the radiation.”

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Archie’s family with all of the costs of going through treatment so far from home as his parents put work on hold to be by his side. 

You can help here: https://gofund.me/16964a4a

Originally published as Archie Down: Townsville family’s ‘living nightmare’ as neck lump turns out to be rare cancer