Klein HS student prepared to fight after rare cancer returns

Friday, January 12, 2018
Klein HS student fighting after cancer returns
Jacob Munoz's family said they learned his cancer returned after fighting the rare form of leukemia in 2015.

KLEIN, Texas -- "I was at work when I got the call, and I collapsed."

Yvette Munoz was not prepared to hear that her son Jacob's cancer was back.

"Not only was it in the bone marrow, but in the spinal fluid and brain," Yvette said.

Diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of leukemia, we first introduced you to Jacob in 2015.

The Klein High School cheerleaders organized a blood drive and students raised funds in his honor.

His family's Facebook page, Jacob's Fight, exploded with support of loved ones and strangers around the world, and then came the miracle.

He rang the bell at Texas Children's Hospital because he was finally cancer-free. When we talked to the Munoz family at our ABC13 Spring Blood Drive, they told us how their hope had turned to healing.

"He was conditioning his body, getting ready for the next football season," said Jacob's grandmother, Delores Mundhenk.

Unfortunately, Jacob's condition changed in December. This week, Jacob's grandmother and his mother talked to us at his hospital room..

They are still hopeful, grateful for Jacob's younger brother, Christian, who is a match for a future bone marrow transplant, but Jacob's condition has to improve first.

"We feel like it's a miracle, because he's there and he's willing to save his brother's life," Yvette said.

Jacob wasn't feeling well enough to talk, but they all want to thank the community for giving blood, joining the marrow registry, and more than anything, continuing to pray .

"He's got a lot of courage. He's very brave, and his faith in God is very strong," Delores said.

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