Teen facing cancer fight with support of his mom

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A tough fight is ahead for a local teen. Fifteen-year-old Kevon Jenkins thought he had just a headache, but soon learned it was much more.

Kevon’s mother said they want the tough battle ahead to be a lesson to all.

Raanaa Jenkins' nightmare began a few months ago when her 15-year-old son Kevon began experiencing weakness on his right side, slurred speech and double vision.

“It is easy to brush your kids off when they tell you something is wrong like a headache or they have double vision,” Jenkins said.

Exactly one month ago, doctors figured out what was ailing Kevon.

“I thought I was going to get glasses and they said 'you got a tumor,'” Kevon said.

Doctors told Kevon he has a cancerous tumor on his brain stem.

“That's my son. As a mother no one wants to hear that their child has cancer. No one thinks of our kids having cancer,” Jenkins said.

Doctors gave him less than a 10 percent chance of surviving the cancer striking his brain. But Kevon's heart remains strong, giving doctors and his family hope.

In the meantime, this 10th-grader at Robert E. Lee High School will have to be home schooled during his treatment and his toughest subject so far this year is chemotherapy.

“So I would like for parents to know their kids, listen, take them to the doctor, don't just brush it off, because if you catch those symptoms, although there's not a cure, there's still time to treat it,” Jenkins said.

The Jenkins family will be walking with thousands in the CureSearch Walk to Fight Children's Cancer. The walk is Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. at Metropolitan Park.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Kevon's GoFundMe page 

WJAX