Meet Riku - #iSurvived2020

While treatment for brain cancer was a difficult journey for 4-year-old Riku, his parents, Noriko and Jun, were there to give him strength and support along the way.

Jun and his family moved from Japan to California in 2017. Riku was 3 years old and spoke only Japanese.

“We would go to the park, and he would talk to everybody in Japanese,” said his mom, Noriko. “And nobody would understand. So it was a drastic change for him.”

In 2018, Riku’s life changed again, with a diagnosis of childhood cancer. Riku had taken a tumble and hit his head.

When he became nauseated and sleepy, his parents rushed him to the emergency room. There, a scan revealed a mass on his brain. The little boy underwent a ten-hour surgery to remove the tumor. A biopsy confirmed it was a type of brain cancer called medulloblastoma.

“I was numb,” said Noriko. “I couldn’t move. I couldn't think. It’s just devastating.”

Riku’s doctors referred him to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for the additional treatment he would need to survive: chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

“For the radiation part, we really wanted Riku to receive proton therapy,” Noriko said. “The proton beam could just hit the tumor and protect other tissue around the tumor.” St. Jude is home to the world’s first proton beam therapy center dedicated solely to children; this was important to them.

As Riku’s treatment got underway, Noriko and Jun quickly learned more about St. Jude. They learned families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. And they found they were included as important members of Riku’s care team.

“They worry about the smallest concern I have,” said Noriko. “They won't just brush it away. They listen to me, and I feel very secure. I can trust doctors and nurses here. It's been really, really great.”

Riku responded well to treatment and has returned home.

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