LOUISVILLE, Ohio — A Stark County family is going through an extremely challenging time, but they have each other, along with an army of supporters in the Louisville area behind them.
Just months after Sarah Holm, 41, was diagnosed with her second form of aggressive breast cancer, her 11-year-old son, Jack Holm, was diagnosed with a different cancer.
Both of them are in the middle of chemotherapy treatments, but they are pushing through with a focus on remaining positive.
"It's pulled us together more. I think we lean on each other more. We are willing to accept help now," Sarah Holm said. "I always say it's us together and we got it together."
The family's difficult double ordeal began in October of last year when Sarah felt a lump in her right breast. Following her first mammogram at the age of 40, doctors determined she had triple-negative breast cancer.
"It's a form of breast cancer. It's fairly aggressive, a little more difficult to treat," she said.
In March, Sarah had a double mastectomy, and that's when doctors discovered she also had triple-positive breast cancer.
"It's pretty rare. They called me the unicorn of breast cancer— not the one you want to be either— so pretty rare," she told News 5 from her home in Louisville.
Just a few months later, Jack, who was finishing up fifth grade, started feeling pain in his left shin.
"I noticed that my leg was larger on the side, but they didn't think much of it," he said.
An active baseball and basketball player, the family assumed Jack had shin splints.
However, it turned out that he had a bone tumor, a cancer known as osteosarcoma.
Sarah, in the midst of coming to grips with her second cancer diagnosis, was now forced to worry about her kid.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to watch in my life. I never wish it upon anybody," she said. "All of my thoughts are on Jack."
Doctors also learned that both Sarah and Jack have Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, which makes people susceptible to cancers.
While both of them getting cancer wasn't a complete coincidence, it still came as a cruel shock. How could the mom and son be facing cancer at the same time?
"I was angry. I mean, it's not fair," Sarah Holm said. "I talked to the preacher and I said, 'You know, I don't feel like praying anymore. I feel like begging.'"
Through it all, Sarah's husband and Jack's father, Matt Holm, has remained steady and a pillar of positivity.
"That's just kind of the mentality is just stay positive. We'll get there. We have to get there," he said. "Take each day at a time. Do your best to fight your hardest."
The Louisville community has been stepping up to help the Holm family in many ways, including bringing them food and providing a house cleaning service.
In addition, a GoFundMe page had raised more than $20,000 as of Monday afternoon.
"It's huge. It's so helpful," Sarah Holm said when asked about the outpouring of support.
Texas Roadhouse in Alliance is hosting a Dine to Donate event from 3 to 11 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23. When people show a flyer at the restaurant, 10% of total food purchases will be donated to assist the family.
Sarah has done 11 chemotherapy treatments so far. Jack has completed five chemo treatments. Both of them have several more to go.
After Jack finishes his treatments, doctors will remove the tumor from his leg.
After Sarah completes all of her chemo visits, her treatment plan will consist of oral chemotherapy followed by hormonal therapy.
While there are many difficult moments, the mother and son are doing everything they can to stay upbeat and beat cancer together.
"Just helping each other when we don't feel good," Jack Holm said. "You just gotta be tough."
If you'd like to contribute to the family's GoFundMe page, CLICK HERE.
The organizer of the GoFundMe for the family has ties to News 5. Fill-in meteorologist Kyle Adams and his wife, Meg, tipped us off to the family's struggles and the community effort to lift them up in this time of need.
