Teen mechanic's unexpected health journey mirrors father's story
A young mechanic-in-training discovered he had kidney cancer about 4 years after losing his dad to the same disease. Despite facing similar challenges his treatment shows positive results
Jason Frary passed away in mid-2019 at just 47 years-old‚ leaving behind his son Jack who slept next to him in his final hours (a photo taken by Jacks sister shows their matching poses)
Last spring Jack started feeling tired during his mechanic training - something he first thought was just from early-morning classes; his lower-back pain seemed like a gym injury. When he noticed blood in his urine he visited a doctor‚ but initial tests didnt show anything wrong
After mentioning his dads history doctors found a 22.5cm tumor on his kidney: it was stage-3 renal cell carcinoma. The medical team explained that he was only the 31st person worldwide in his age-group to catch this specific cancer early enough for treatment - a rare case for someone under-40
They hadnʼt treated this cancer before in someone my age‚ so I was an experiment
The following months brought ups-and-downs: first surgery went well but pre-christmas scans showed lung tumors. His treatment plan included daily chemo-tablets and bi-monthly immunotherapy. By early-24 scans showed amazing progress - tumors shrank from 27mm to just 4mm
Jack keeps busy with work full-time and gentle exercise; he finds peace while fishing - a hobby that connects him to his dad. The Teenage Cancer Trust gives crucial support through his journey (especially his nurse specialist Holly who stays just a phone-call away)
