Dinuba mom ‘angry’ her 2-year-old’s cancer was not noticed sooner

DINUBA, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – A two-year-old from Dinuba battling a rare form of cancer could have a better chance of beating the disease if the issue had been noticed sooner, according to the young boy's parents.

Instead, the parents say it took a year for Peter Porras' eye condition to be taken seriously.

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Peter's parents, Ivan and Breana Porras, met in college playing in the Fresno State marching band. They were friends for many years, and then fell in love and started a family together.

Their first daughter, Maya, was born in 2019. Three years later they had a son named Peter.

"Maya is very similar to me," Breana said. "Maya is very much a rule follower and she likes the order. Peter likes the chaos."

Ivan and Breana say Peter takes after his father in many ways and they have always tried their best to take care of all their children's needs.

"Our goal as parents has been just to break those boundaries, emotionally and physically. We want our kids to be raised better than we grew up," Ivan said.

As a stay-at-home dad, Ivan says he treasures the opportunity to be with his son and be close to him, especially since his father was not able to.

"Growing up my father was incarcerated," Ivan said. "Me being here and not forcing that same situation on him or my daughter, means a lot. Because that's just another chain that I'm breaking."

Remembering the early signs of Peter's cancer, Breana recalls the pediatrician saying that Peter could grow out of the lack of red light reflected in one of Peter's eyes,

"She continued to keep an eye on it, every single well-baby visit still noticed it, and then at the two-year visit she said 'well it's about time we make the referral.'"

Breana says a referral was made earlier this month – and Ivan took Peter to an ophthalmologist the next day.

"That's where [the ophthalmologist] noticed a mass in that eye and then he referred us."

The Porras family rushed to Valley Children's Hospital where after an 18-hour stay they were told that their son's cancer was so rare he would have to go to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for treatment.

Peter ended up spending 10 days in Los Angeles. His parents say during their first few days Peter underwent several tests, including MRI and spinal taps; when he was not being examined, Peter could be seen running laps around the hospital halls in a little push car.

Peter later underwent chemotherapy and spent most of the day in bed recovering.

Ivan says his daughter Maya has been a validating indication that they have raised their children right, reaching out to her younger brother with words of comfort.

"We would video chat with her at the hospital, Ivan said. "She would be talking to Peter and say be brave, Peter. You can do this. It's okay."

Breana says she is frustrated that the cancer was not caught sooner, especially given what she has been told since treatment began.

"I was mostly angry because every single medical professional we spoke to after the first referral said that a referral should be made when he was a baby when it was noticed. It had two years to grow larger and larger."

Since returning to Dinuba, YourCentralValley.com has been told that Peter is also battling a dangerous fever that can be life-threatening to chemotherapy patients like him.

If you would like to help the Porras family, you can donate to their GoFundMe here.