Bethel Park cancer survivor supplies Easter baskets for children
Sean Rovers with the Easter baskets donated through Smiles from Sean
The distribution of Easter baskets should help Smiles from Sean reach its main objective when children receive them.
The Smiles from Sean continue.
In April 2018, Bethel Park resident Sean Rovers underwent his second surgery following a recurrence of the rare type of brain cancer for which he had been treated the previous fall, when he was 10.
To celebrate the second anniversary of the surgery’s success, Sean and his family planned to put together Easter baskets to distribute through Smiles from Sean, the nonprofit organization they founded to help brighten the lives of young hospital patients.
With donations helping the effort the family was able to assemble 32 baskets for delivery to children in the South Hills. While the toys and other materials were either bought or donated prior to the start of precautions against the spread of COVID-19, Sean and his mother, Maria, used cleaning materials on all the items in the baskets. Deliveries were made with proper social distancing.
Sean was diagnosed in 2017 as having a myxoid mesenchymal tumor, a sarcoma – rare type of cancer that grow in connective tissue like bones, nerves, muscles, tendons, cartilage and blood vessels of the arms and legs – that usually affects infants.
Part of Smiles from Sean’s mission is to raise awareness about pediatric cancers, pediatric brain tumors, sarcoma and the importance of annual well-child visits. The nonprofit also raises money for families in need of help with incidentals and to benefit research efforts.
“We still don’t have much information about the type of cancer he has,” the Smiles from Sean Facebook page states. “We may or may not have answers for Sean, but we want to contribute into finding a cure or better treatment for childhood cancers.”
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/smilesfromsean.