Harvey’s Journey An unwavering ambition for permanent remission.
Meet Harvey

Hi! I’m Harvey, a 7-year-old cancer-fighting warrior from Minnesota. My journey began on March 18, 2022, when I was diagnosed with leukemia. After 123 days of intense cancer treatment, I experienced a glimmer of hope when I achieved remission on July 19, 2022. Unfortunately, after 18 months of treatment, my cancer returned.

On October 5, 2023, I found out that I relapsed, and cancer had spread to my spinal fluid. I spent 7 weeks away from home in Philadelphia, PA, receiving CAR T therapy – a promising cancer treatment. On January 26, 2024, my doctors told me that I was once again in remission, and no cancer cells were found in my body!

On January 10th, 2025, I received great news: The T cells I received from CAR T therapy have kept me cancer-free for 1 year! I’ll continue to have many appointments and IVIg infusions to keep my immune system functioning, but I’m back home, able to return to school, and living my best life!

Thank you to each and every one of you who has thought of me, followed my journey, or helped me in so many thoughtful, heartfelt ways since my cancer fight began on March 18, 2022!

Harvey’s Journey Journal Harvey’s FAQs Join Harvey on facebook
CAR T Results

January 2024

IN REMISSION

No detectable cancer nor b cells. Normal brain MRI.

February 2024

IN REMISSION

No detectable b cells. Bone marrow/spinal fluid not tested.

March 2024

IN REMISSION

No detectable cancer nor b cells. Normal brain MRI (with white matter lesions).

April 2024

IN REMISSION

No detectable b cells. Bone marrow/spinal fluid not tested.

May 2024

IN REMISSION

No detectable b cells. Bone marrow/spinal fluid not tested.

June 2024

IN REMISSION

No detectable cancer nor b cells.
MILESTONE: 6 months cancer-free!

September 2024

IN REMISSION

No detectable cancer nor b cells.
MILESTONE: 9 months cancer-free!

January 2025

IN REMISSION

No detectable cancer nor b cells.
MILESTONE: 1 year cancer-free!

Medical Metrics
days since diagnosis
days hospitalized
ER visits
clinic chemo visits
blood transfusions
spinal taps
intramuscular shots
bone marrow biopsies
IVIg infusions

Journey Journal Updates

Day 1096 – March 18, 2025

Posted on
Less frequent updates on this site have meant we’re busy living life. And we’re grateful for every moment. This moment. Harvey’s cancer diagnosis came unexpectedly—and unapologetically—on March 18th, 2022. The darkness that enveloped us 3 years ago now starkly contrasts with the light in our lives today. He is now 14 months in remission and has just returned from a…

Day 1031 – January 12, 2025

Posted on
We truly know what a happy new year is: A piece of paper showing no detectable cancer in our warrior 1 year after receiving CAR T therapy! We received these results late in the afternoon January 10th. This is all we’ve wanted and hoped for since Harv’s diagnosis on March 18, 2022! We have our boy back, he has slowly…
Read All Updates

Featured Videos

7th Birthday

October 30, 2024

Seven years of you: Each one a gift. Remember the mountains you’ve conquered and always seek the wonders ahead. Inspiration holds its breath to see what you’ll do next. Happy birthday, Harvey!

Private Jet Experience

April 12, 2024

Harvey shares his story of flying (in) a private jet to Philadelphia to begin his CAR T cancer treatment. Something we were dreading became a magical experience thanks to the Corporate Angel Network & Medtronic!

Year 2 review

March 18, 2024

It’s been 2 years since Harvey was diagnosed with cancer. The second year brought moments of pure joy and moments of utter despair. Here’s a recap of Harvey’s second year, told frame by frame.

6th Birthday

October 30, 2023

Your 5th year brought challenges no child should have to bear. Hold close the bravery you’ve revealed from battles you’ve waged, and the extraordinary spirit that defines you. It gets better, I promise. ❤️

Year 1 review

March 18, 2023

Exactly 1 year ago today, Harvey received his cancer diagnosis. Wow. It feels so much longer than 365 days ago. Yet, what an accomplishment – especially when we were living moment to moment, not knowing what each next day would bring.

5th Birthday

October 30, 2022

Happy birthday, Harvey! Here’s a look back at some of the moments over the past 5 years that we’ll forever cherish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Harvey’s official diagnosis is high risk Philadelphia-like B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (high risk Ph-like BALL).

More simply, this is commonly referred to as “blood cancer,” leukemia, or BALL.

When we say “Harvey’s cancer returned,” we really mean it likely never completely disappeared. The first 18 months of treatment/chemotherapy didn’t succeed in eliminating every single cancer cell, and it spread to his spinal fluid.

When a cancer patient is said to be in remission, it means that medical tests did not detect any cancer. However, current cancer tests aren’t very effective nor advanced, and it only takes one cancer cell for the disease to spread. And one single cancer cell in the body is certainly undetectable by medical tests available today. So, even though Harvey’s test results detected no cancer and he was declared to be in remission, we now know that not all of the cancer was eradicated.

The reality is that no one is completely sure and nothing is guaranteed. We are willing to do whatever it takes to give Harvey the chance to be cured. Curing him means eliminating every single cancer cell in his body and preventing the development of new cancer cells.

Initial cancer treatment (countless rounds of chemotherapy) from March 2022 – October 2023 didn’t work, so Harvey received CAR T therapy at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Philadelphia, PA on December 19th, 2023.

On January 26, 2024, we found out that all of Harvey’s tests found no cancer in his body: He is currently MRD (minimal residual disease) negative and in remission!

On January 10, 2025, we learned that Harvey is 1 year in remission from his CAR T cells!

As long as the cancer doesn’t return, he will not need any other cancer treatments. However, if CAR T therapy doesn’t work for Harvey, other treatment options include:

  1. Another infusion of T cells or another type of CAR T therapy
  2. Bone marrow transplant (BMT) coupled with radiation therapy (This is not preferred)
  3. Both 1 and 2 (This is really not preferred)
  4. Other clinical trials/research studies (currently unknown to us)

It’s a procedure that collects T cells from a cancer patient’s blood, reprograms them to fight their specific type of cancer, then injects them back into their body. We like to explain it by saying it “teaches their own body to kill their cancer.” This is the ideal outcome, but is not guaranteed. It’s worth mentioning that CAR T has shown amazing results in a good number of patients with Harvey’s type of cancer – We are incredibly hopeful.

Of course, that’s a gross over-simplification. CAR T is a complex, amazing, emerging type of individualized immunotherapy with promising results for cancer treatment. We hope CAR T alone is enough to cure Harvey. He had his T cells collected (via apheresis) in November 2023, received his reprogrammed T cells in December 2023, and is now back in remission as of January 26, 2024! We’ll post updates as we monitor him and get results to see how effective CAR T therapy is for him.

Here are the first-year results from CAR-T therapy.

2025 onward: If Harvey remains in remission (MRD negative) with no detectable cancer, he will not need further cancer treatments. It may take 5-10 years cancer-free (2030-2035) to determine whether or not CAR T is truly a cure for him. We truly hope so! An intended side effect of CAR T therapy is b cell aplasia: Having no b cells. Most successful CAR T patients have not had their b cells return even many years later. B cells are an important part of the body’s immune system. Therefore, Harvey needs monthly infusions of immunoglobulin (IVIG) to keep his immune system functioning, potentially for the rest of his life.

Currently, there is no plan for Harvey to receive a bone marrow transplant or radiation. However, if CAR T therapy doesn’t eliminate his cancer, he’ll likely need it.

Unlike CAR T therapy that trains a patient’s body to eliminate it’s own cancer cells, a bone marrow transplant takes healthy bone marrow cells from a another person (a donor) and injects them into a cancer patient in hopes that they will produce functioning, non-cancerous cells.

Again, this is an over-simplified explanation. However, we hope to avoid this option for Harvey if possible. A bone marrow transplant for him would mean an increased number of risks and side effects including:
1. Being susceptible to life-threatening illness and/or infection. His immune system would need to be eliminated before the transplant begins.
2. Since Harvey’s cancer spread to his spinal fluid, radiation therapy would be also needed.This is never preferable for young, developing patients due to the long-term consequences of radiation exposure to the brain (and many other areas).

Harvey has shown incredible strength and bravery. Despite enduring constant pokes, procedures, and chemotherapy, he is thrilled to be back in school as a kindergartner, surrounded by other kids. However, he remains severely immunocompromised, requiring us to carefully balance letting him enjoy a normal childhood while protecting him from illness and infection. Certain activities, like swimming in a pool or lake and being in public without a mask, are restricted during his cancer treatment. Nevertheless, we’ve discovered many enjoyable things to do together as a family.

As parents, this has all been devastating; there’s no other way to say it. We live day to day, witnessing Harvey (and his siblings) being robbed of their time in childhood. Everything can and has changed in an instant on numerous occasions. Despite the challenges, we are grateful for today, hopeful for tomorrow, and navigating the unknown together to the best of our abilities and intuition. Our survival & sanity is thanks to the incredible care provided by experienced medical research and practice teams, as well as the selfless support from our loving family and friends during our many times of dire need. Thank you to each and every one of you that has thought of us, followed Harvey’s journey, or helped us in so many thoughtful, heartfelt ways since March 18, 2022 – We are incredibly grateful for you!

Harvey has now been in remission for over 1 year thanks to his CAR T therapy. We are hopeful that this will be the last cancer treatment he ever needs. The worry never goes away, but we are immensely grateful and truly blessed. We are cherishing every moment with our warrior and our family.