Family raises awareness about rare form of brain cancer

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) - Carlos "Juelz" Ibarra was only three years old when he lost his battle one year ago to a rare form of brain cancer known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. 

His mother Franchesca Gomez told 22news "When you find out your child has this, its a death sentence. They give them no longer than a year.  My son lived for ten months after his diagnosis."

DIPG is usually diagnosed in children between 5 and 10 years old.  The cancer is located in the brainstem, at the base of the brain. Leaving the tumor impossible to remove and symptoms hard to notice.

Franchesca told 22news "You start showing symptoms once the tumor has grown already. The tumor gets so big he wasn't able to swallow so he was drooling. He's three years old, he's not suppose to be drooling."

Sunday night family and friends gathered at the Caribbean Restaurant in Holyoke where his memory lives on.

With September marking childhood cancer awareness month. Family and friends are turning a negative into a positive by celebrating Carlos' life. They remembered his struggles and strengthens.

Natasha Ramos told 22news "Today is a very hard day. People need to go to the doctors and get their children checked. Carlos was healthy. We never though this would happen. It came out of no where."

Jaime Labarre knew Carlos at just eighteen months, she told 22news " It was heart wrenching but you had to be strong, because you saw his strength in his eyes and he fought so hard. We watched him grow and change. He's a little boy you won't forget."

For more information on DIPG click here