COLUMBUS, Ohio — Liz Dagget's nine-year-old son Carter is a two-time cancer survivor, but he's also a typical fourth grader who enjoys the playground, cooking and is a first-degree black belt in karate.

“Been through some really tough times and I think that makes him who he is today,” said Liz Daggett. (Westerville)

What You Need To Know

  • Liz Dagget's nine-year-old son Carter is a two-time cancer survivor

  • Carter has been cancer-free for four years thanks to advanced genomics treatment at Nationwide Children's Hospital

  • Daggett knows how difficult these medical battles can be- she lost Carter's dad to colon cancer five years ago

Carter has been cancer-free for four years thanks to advanced genomics treatment at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

“He was diagnosed at just one-year-old," Daggett said. "He has always been a big guy and his pediatrician had concern about the size of his head, so we went in for a scan. Just as a precaution, she thought nothing of it, and turns out they found a tumor. And it was a very rare, cancerous tumor."

It was meningeal sarcoma, and after years of treatment and surgery, Carter's cancerous tumor returned at age five. 

But this time the approach was different, thanks to innovative research at the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Doctors were able to take DNA samples, find the exact mutation, and determine the course of treatment, to keep Carter cancer free. 

“So when the genomic testing came up and they could do some additional findings, it was amazing, we were thankful," Daggett said. "Because of that, he's on an oral chemo medication that he still takes today."

Dr. Elaine Mardis, the Co-Executive Director of the Institute of Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said genomic testing also gives parents peace of mind. 

“There are just challenges that occur during development that we have no control over, but can maybe feel better about as parents, that you know, there wasn't anything on our part that went wrong as it were," Mardis said. "And in a lot of cases, these types of information can also inform future reproductive decisions as well."

Daggett knows how difficult these medical battles can be- she lost Carter's dad to colon cancer five years ago, so they are grateful for everything that these doctors and researchers do in the efforts to find the best treatment

She continues to advocate for families who have gone through a similar situation to hers.

“We want to do whatever we can to help support the hospital and to tell other people what we've been through," said Daggett. "He has a completely normal life except for every six months we go for an MRI, which is a few hours. And we just, you know, pray for clean results every time and we move on with life."

The Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine is benefiting from part of a new $10 million gift that the Nationwide Foundation recently made through their Pediatric Innovation Fund.

Since the institute's founding in 2016, IGM has provided nearly 60,000 clinical genomic tests for 16,000 child patients with a variety of conditions.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story said the hospital's foundation donated $10 million to the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine. The institute received a portion of the donation from the Nationwide Foundation.