3-Year-Old South Jersey Boy Loses Fight With Leukemia

Mason Phillips' fight with acute myeloid leukemia ended on Friday, Feb 14th.

The 3-year-old Barnegat boy, who had been so strong during his nearly year-long battle with AML, enduring bone marrow tests, spinal taps with chemo, and several unsuccessful drug treatments for his disease, leaves behind his mom and dad, his older brother Parker, 5, and his baby sister Mia, 11 months.

Mason's Battle With AML

According to a GoFundMe set up shortly after Mason's medical issues began, the boy was rushed to the hospital in March 2024 with unexplained bruising.

Testing showed his white blood cell count was 969,000. The normal range for a 2-year-old boy is 5,000 to 19,000.

Acute myeloid leukemia is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes a large number of abnormal blood cells.

Mason spent considerable time at CHOP -- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia -- receiving testing and treatments.

The memory of those times is how strong Mason was while facing a serious disease with so many unpleasant aspects to his treatment.

By November, his mother, Kristina, posted on the GoFundMe a disappointing update.

On 11/17, Mason went to the emergency room and was admitted to the hospital while they tried to find an explanation for extreme abdominal pain he was experiencing. After many tests, there were still no answers and on 11/20 he went in for a bone marrow biopsy. The initial report confirmed that the second AML treatment did not work. Mason still has approximately 90% of his marrow consisting of cancer.

The family decided to switch Mason to a 28-day high-dosage cocktail of drugs to fight his disease more aggressively.

Mason's parents had been warned of the poor prognosis from such a treatment, but it was the only shot they had to save their son.

Three months later, Mason died.

How to Help the Family

The Ashley Lauren Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing hope and help to children in New Jersey who are battling cancer. They posted information on how to help the Phillips family.

You can see options for helping the family on the Ashley Lauren Foundation post below.