Denham Springs boy beats rare cancer and rings the bell in celebration

DENHAM SPRINGS – John Burthe LaCroix Jr. has “rang the bell” signifying he is now cancer-free after more than a year of battling the rare cancer Epithelioid Mesothelioma. On Friday, Feb. 14th, LaCroix walked the halls of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and celebrated winning the battle against cancer.

After being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2023, then nine-year-old LaCroix faced a whirlwind of emotions as he underwent regular chemo treatments. To help lift his spirits, he and his family asked the community to send cards to read during his recovery.

Now, his family has announced that LaCroix is officially in remission.

“We are ready just to let it go and move forward and live life to the fullest. He’s ready just to be a normal kid again,” said LaCroix’s mother Andrea Stanley.

One of the first things LaCroix is planning to do is go to Airborne Extreme to “jump his energy out,” his mom told UWK.

“He’s just ready to get back on with his life.”

In October 2024, a scan revealed that his main tumor had significantly shrunk and was barely visible, according to Stanley.

“The doctor thought they were going to call it full remission, but they didn’t,” she said.

However, just a few weeks ago, LaCroix underwent another scan and received his final round of chemotherapy. This time, the tumor was completely gone.

On Feb. 14th, he got to “ring the bell” at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital on Essen, signifying that he is cancer-free. His mother shared that the local car club Exssesive Lifestyles, which has supported LaCroix and his family throughout his battle, was there and got people from the public to line up outside the hospital with bells.

“When John comes out the hospital from ringing the big bell, he can walk through the line of cars and ring those bells too,” she said.

LaCroix, who will turn 11 in July, is very excited about getting a haircut, his mother said.

He has been back in school for the past year, and some of his teachers plan to attend the celebratory event. Even his bus driver—who will be cutting his hair—is joining in.

“He’s doing great with school. He enjoys it,” she said. “He’s ready to just be a kid again.”

LaCroix is eager for this chapter of his life to be over so he can participate in activities like P.E. and playing outside without restrictions. While he’s currently advised to avoid these activities, his mother admitted that he still tries to sneak in a little playtime.

“It’s been a rocky road, but it’s over,” Stanley said. “We’ll see his surgeon Friday morning to have a consult for them to remove the port too.”

Stanley said she is keeping the port and maybe one day her son will decide to use it for “show and tell.”

As a mother, Stanley had some words of advice for other parents who find their families going through a childhood cancer diagnosis.

“Stay positive and fight the fight with them,” she said. “You be their number one supporter, you’re their number one fan, because they’re doing all the hard work.”

Battling Epithelioid mesothelioma

LaCroix was diagnosed with Epithelioid Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, in 2023.

Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common type of malignant mesothelioma and is typically caused by long-term asbestos exposure. However, LaCroix had an extremely rare form that was not linked to asbestos.

While LaCroix had one main tumor, he also had multiple tumors in different areas of his body.

“It was all throughout his body, like his abdomen and it was on both lungs. And once they had started the big chemo, he had actually had some in his chest cavity,” Stanley explained.

For a while, LaCroix went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis every 21 days, where he received three types of chemotherapy, each session lasting seven hours. He underwent six rounds of what his mother called the “big chemo,” which helped destroy more of the cancer. After that, he transitioned to immunotherapy, which he has been receiving every two weeks for the past year.

While he was going through treatment, Stanley said her son wasn’t his normal self and was often angry or down. That’s why they called on the community to send cards for him to read while he was going through chemo.

Back in 2023, when cards started coming in, this is what his mom had to say:

“He gets excited when I tell him he has cards coming in the mail. He gets 10 or more cards daily…We get emotional but happy for the cards of encouragement for him because he’s not in this fight alone. His army is bigger than the cancer.”

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