Chase Caspersen was diagnosed with bone cancer one day after his ninth birthday. There was only one cure: removal of the bone and tumor. After chemotherapy and transplant of bone graft from a donor, Chase is now a very active sixth grader. Grateful for his second chance and inspired by the service dogs that visited him in the hospital, Chase had the idea to sell dog toys to benefit pediatric cancer research. PetSmart made the program national and Chase hopes his initiative will help children for years to come. As Chase's mom said, his donor "truly is the most honored person in his life."

Chase's Story

Chase Caspersen was diagnosed with bone cancer on April 3, 2010, one day after his ninth birthday. In children the condition is very aggressive and destructive, and there is only one cure: removal of the bone and tumor.

Chase underwent heavy doses of chemotherapy for four months prior to having bone transplant surgery. In July 2010, Chase's right radius, the inside bone of the forearm, was removed and replaced with a bone donated by a 56-year-old woman. The 10-hour surgery was successful, with his surgeon able to re-establish almost all of the function of an arm that just ten days prior was scheduled to be amputated.

After another six months of chemo to fight any cancer that remained in his body, Chase completed his treatment on New Year's Eve 2010.

Today, Chase is a very active sixth grader, catching up on baseball and all of the things he wasn't able to do during his cancer treatments. Chase will continue to be scanned for cancer every three months until he reaches 19 years of age, after which he will be considered "cancer free."

Because Chase was given a second chance, he decided he wanted to give back. Through his battle with cancer, Chase discovered the power of the service dogs that visit children in the hospital and started making dog toys for them. This gave him the idea to sell dog toys to help other kids. His idea launched a national program, and now Chase's dog toys are mass produced and sold in PetSmart stores nationwide. to support pediatric cancer research. Chase hopes this national campaign will build a legacy program to help children for years to come.

"Our experience has made us view life differently," said Chase's mom. "A little boy's life has been changed. He appreciates everything he can do every day. He also has a birthday party for his donor every year on July 23, the day of his transplant surgery. Chase often talks about his sports teams and players. None of them hold a candle to his donor; she truly is the most honored person in his life."