This is the Cueto fam. They moved to Colorado from Mexico 3 years ago with their three boys, (8, 6, 2) and it’s been a wild ride ever since.
Two years ago, their oldest son, Pedro, was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma when he was 6 years old. While Pedro went through treatment, they were also in the middle of opening a new restaurant, @quintopizzeria. I happened to meet Laetitia when we first moved here, and I’ve loved getting to know their sweet family while our kids eat pizza and play Mario Kart together at the restaurant.
They are a strong and loving family with a fierce band of brothers, and they are truly juggling all the things right now (including trying to sell their house and move,) and I was grateful to get to document this chaotic moment in their lives. We were hoping to raise some awareness for Ewings Sarcoma, and I wanted to give a massive shoutout to anyone near Westminster to check out their restaurant. It needs your support!
Ewing’s sarcoma is a rare and aggressive bone cancer that primarily affects children. Just 200 cases are diagnosed each year in the US. Treatment consists of 14+ cycles of some of the most aggressive chemo available, and local control which can be radiation, radical resection, or both. In Pedros case, 14 cm of his femur was removed, along with his knee. He has a titanium implant replacing his femur, his knee, and extending into his tibia.
As Pedro underwent treatment, they were always amazed by his attitude, his thoughts, and the way he held himself. The nurses would often remark on the way that when asked how he was doing, he would return the question to them, to inquire how THEY were doing. He made it through treatment and they just got clear one year scans 💪🏼. He’s doing well, but his biggest struggle remains mobility. Through PT 5x per week and constant pushing to regain more and more ability each day, they hope to get him back to walking, running and jumping soon!
Ewing’s sarcoma is so rare, that the treatment remains largely underfunded. The chemotherapy that is being used to treat this disease is over 30 years old, and has life long side effects. Additionally, it’s not always effective, with survival and reoccurrence rates remaining very far from where they could and SHOULD be.
The Little Warrior foundation has been founded by the Spada family, whose daughter battled Ewing’s Sarcoma. Ewing’s sarcoma is one of the pediatric cancers where doctors hypothesize that a cure is very achievable, because the exact fusion is known - which for many cancers isn’t the case yet. They are on a mission to raise enough funds to cure this beast, once and for all.
