jamesX

Thanks so much for all of your replies and great comments. They are really comforting me. I asked similar questions to most of my son's doctors, and they said that the disease was very rare, etc. Again, no doctors knows what would happen next. There are so many unknowns... I totally agree with kayc that it helps a huge to express myself and know I am heard. I also don't want to see other parents to go through this.

My son passed away a week ago after he was diagnosed a very rare cancer in his trachea. CT scan found a 5x4x3 cm mass outside and inside his trachea. His airway was nearly blocked by the tumor so a stent was put in his airway. He was able to breathe but the stent makes him cough day and night. He kept coughing for the next two weeks, and the cough did its maximum damage on a Sunday – he had a big bleeding from the stent and tumor area which directly led to his pass a few days later. All of these happened in such a quick and unexpected way. My wife and I have been in indescribable pain and grief. There is not even a second that we think this is real. In addition, I have several questions and your comments are highly appreciated. My first question: is the quick growth of the tumor anything to do with the COVID vaccine? His airway was nearly blocked right one month after his second dose, so the timing seems in such a coincidence. It appears that the vaccine accelerated the growth of the tumor. Second question: can jaw pain be related to trachea tumor? He complained occasional jaw pain a year ago. His jaw pain may or may not be related to his trachea mass, but I feel extremely guilty because I did not even think of taking him to do a CT scan on head and chest. A simple CT scan would have found the mass when it was smaller in size. I know this is with hindsight, but still I should have done something. Finally, I have a thought. He had appointments with several interventional pulmonologists (including the one who placed the stent) but none of them warned him that the stent can cause coughing, and coughing can lead to the burst of the tumor. His life might be saved if those warnings were given.