Little firefighter battling brain tumor gets good news

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — There is great news for the family of a future firefighter who has been battling a brain tumor.

“We did a scan recently and it showed no progression at all of the tumor,” said Doctor Eric Sadler, who delivered the test results.

The tumor Riley Ruppert-Richendollar, 7, has is called a low-grade astrocytoma, which is the most common type of brain tumor for children.
According to the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, more than 20,000 children have the tumor and more than 1,000 will be diagnosed this upcoming year.

“There is a chance, long-term, that this might come back again and start growing again in five years, 10 years, 20 years,” Sadler said, “But there is a better chance that we'll be done with this treatment. And then we will watch it very closely and never need any other kind of treatment.”

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Riley's dads, Scott Ruppert and Robert Richendollar say it is a big relief.

“He is a fighter. Riley is doing fantastic in this. And he's a real trooper. We're very, very proud of him,” Robert said.

WJAX