Miracle Moment: Boy battles cancer three times

Reporter: Amanda Hall Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:

Twelve-year-old Karsen Winters is staying cool in the face of cancer.

Karsen loves gaming and he keeps it real. He’s going into 7th grade and told WINK News reporter Amanda Hall his favorite subject in school is “lunch.”

He keeps a cool attitude, but this young man has been through it all. The nightmare started when a bump appeared on his hand that suddenly and quickly started growing.

Doctors diagnosed Karsen with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Six months into chemo and radiation, his mom Kristina says they celebrated his remission.

Six months after that, the nightmare returned, not long after Hurricane Ian.

“We had already lost our house in Hurricane Ian, and we were staying in a friend’s house, and it was hard enough to sleep and then to have to deal with that again. It was it was hard,” said Kristina Winters.

That time, doctors removed the bump from his forearm and followed up with more radiation.

“Last April, unfortunately, he found another one in the upper arm right above the elbow, and that’s when we found out that it had spread to the lymph, a couple of lymph nodes, and one of the lungs,” said Kristina.

Karson is now getting chemotherapy again, and so far it appears to be working to shrink the tumors.

“We pray for a miracle,” said Kristina.

A miracle for her son, who enjoys Boy Scouts and boating and hopes to live out his dream of being a zookeeper one day.

Karsen continues treatment every four weeks.

At the hospital, we hear he likes to play tricks on the staff, hiding fake cockroaches. He once even made them cake pops with Brussels sprouts in them.

Staying cool in the face of cancer, Karsen is our miracle moment.

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