As the holiday season comes to a close, one family reflects on a year of healing, gratitude, and renewed hope.
SOMERSET, N.J., Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As families across New Jersey transition from the holidays into a new year, one family is reflecting on a medical crisis that unfolded during last year’s holiday season—and the hope that followed. Just as holiday lights were going up last December, Jimmy, a 14-year-old student in Central New Jersey, thought he had a sinus infection. But days before school break, he collapsed outside his pediatrician’s office.
FROM LEFT: Jimmy, his mother Janet, and his sister Grace.
“I noticed my son’s skin looking gray and white,” said Janet, Jimmy’s mother. “My Dad passed of a brain tumor, and what I saw happening to Jimmy was frighteningly familiar. I looked at his eyes and knew something was very wrong.”
Neurosurgeons at Hackensack Meridian Health’s Jersey Shore Medical Center performed an emergency procedure to drain fluid causing life-threatening pressure on his brain. Further testing, including a biopsy, revealed a rare but highly curable cancer diagnosis: a germinoma obstructing the brain’s fluid-flow channels.
“When he collapsed, there were three hospitals we could have gone to,” said James Sr., Jimmy’s father. “We now know it was a blessing that we chose Jersey Shore, where the right neurosurgeons were available. Anywhere else, they would have had to transfer him, and it might have been too late.”
By April, chemotherapy had eliminated the tumor, offering hope for a strong prognosis pending the next steps in the established protocol.
Janet noted that the choice of Jersey Shore ultimately led to a referral to ProCure Proton Therapy in Somerset. At ProCure, Dr. Timothy Chen, M.D., whose specialties include pediatric and central nervous system cancers, drew on clinical experience from Japan, where germinomas are more common and show excellent outcomes when proton therapy targets areas where tumor cells can “escape and hide” in the brain’s fluid pathways.
“Dr. Chen was confident and reassuring,” Janet said. “He knows where these cancer cells like to hide in the brain and how to use proton therapy to keep them from coming back.”
“With proton therapy, we can support excellent long-term cognitive and functional outcomes by directing radiation only where it’s needed,” said Dr. Chen.
“Proton therapy delivers radiation directly into the tumor, sparing excess exposure to healthy brain tissue,” added Dr. Brian Chon, M.D., Medical Director at ProCure. “Children and teens need treatment that accommodates their growing bodies, and our team works closely with patients, parents, and their care providers to tailor each plan.”
Now, as a new year begins, Jimmy is thriving: building theater sets, practicing guitar, earning top grades, and—shaped by his experience—planning a healthcare career. His family is celebrating not only clear scans but joyful moments they once feared might slip away.
“At ProCure, they did more than treat Jimmy’s cancer,” Janet said. “The entire team is uplifting, and Dr. Chen freely shares his wisdom with Jimmy. That has inspired the future our son is planning.”
About ProCure Proton Therapy Center
ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Somerset, NJ, opened in March 2012 as the tri-state region’s first proton therapy facility, treating a range of cancers including diseases of the prostate, breast, lung, brain, head and neck, and gastrointestinal system, as well as sarcomas and many pediatric cases. Using the most advanced radiation treatment available, ProCure has treated more than 7,500 patients overall, including 750+ pediatric patients coming from the U.S. and abroad, and enables many cancer patients to choose a non-surgical treatment personalized to their medical needs and lifestyles, often with fewer side effects and less downtime—giving them more freedom to enjoy what matters most in their lives. For more information, visit ProCure.com.
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SOURCE ProCure Proton Therapy Center
