'Mighty Quinn' family rallies as dad faces own brain cancer battle

IT’S ONLY ON FIVE TONIGHT. NOW, I’M PAINFULLY AWARE THAT YOU KNOW LIFE IS SHORT AND YOU MAKE THE MOST OF IT. AND THAT’S THE PLAN. JARLATH WATERS KNOWS THAT BETTER THAN MOST. THE WEYMOUTH MAN, ORIGINALLY FROM IRELAND, IS LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM, BUT HE SAYS SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE A NIGHTMARE. SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON. YOU’VE SEEN OUR REPORTING ON HIS SON, THE MIGHTY QUINN. ROCK STARS PLAY MUSIC IN THE FRONT YARD OF HIS HOME. THE SECOND GRADER BATTLED A BRAIN TUMOR CALLED A MEDULLOBLASTOMA NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE. THE GOOD NEWS IS QUINN IS BACK IN SCHOOL AND LOVING LIFE. WE’VE STRUGGLED FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS WITH TWO CANCER DIAGNOSES WITH OUR SON, AND NOW WE’RE ON OUR THIRD ONE. THE NEW CANCER BELONGS TO JARLATH. HIS TWO BLACK EYES ARE A GIVEAWAY. THIS SPRING HE PASSED OUT IN THE DUBLIN AIRPORT JUST BEFORE RETURNING HOME FROM A RECENT TRIP. FRACTURED BONES IN HIS FACE AND BROKE SOME TEETH. A CT SCAN SHOWED A BRAIN MASS AS THE REASON FOR THE FALL AND REMOVED BY SURGEONS. I DON’T FEEL LIKE I’M GOING TO SIT AROUND WASTING TIME FEELING SORRY. THE MASTER CARPENTER ISN’T FEELING SORRY FOR HIMSELF. HE HAS TWO HEALTHY KIDS, A LOVING WIFE, AND FOREVER FRIENDS TO KEEP HIM BUSY. WE’RE GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVEN’T. I’VE SEEN PEOPLE I KNOW PASS AWAY IN AN INSTANT. BOTH FATHER AND SON HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF BRAIN CANCER, BUT BOTH WILL RECEIVE TREATMENT HERE AT MASS. GENERAL BRIGHAM. SO JARLATH HAS A TUMOR CALLED A GLIOBLASTOMA. IT’S A MALIGNANT BRAIN TUMOR. DOCTOR ALBERT KIM IS ONCOLOGIST AT MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM. HE SAYS JARLATH’S AGE IN GOOD HEALTH HELPS HIM BATTLE HIS BRAIN TUMOR, BUT WONDERS ABOUT THE ODDS OF A FATHER AND SON BOTH HAVING BRAIN CANCER. WE PROBABLY DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING SCIENTIFICALLY ABOUT WHAT DRIVES THESE CANCERS AND WHY IT HAPPENED, LIKE TO TWO PEOPLE IN THE IN A NUCLEAR FAMILY. IT’S A BLESSING TO BE ABLE TO TO BE ALIVE. GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A. REMINDER OF HOW IMPORTANT LIFE IS. THE WATERS FAMILY KNOWS THAT ALL TOO WELL. Advertisement 'Mighty Quinn' family rallies as dad faces own brain cancer battle Share Copy Link Copy A Weymouth, Massachusetts, family that the community rallied around when their young son was diagnosed with a brain tumor is again facing a heartbreaking diagnosis. Quinn Waters of Weymouth was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Feb. 11, 2019, the day after he turned 3 years old. The boy became known as "The Mighty Quinn" for his bravery and strength in the face of his cancer battle. Now, six years later, Quinn's father, Jarlath Waters, has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, after becoming ill while in his native Ireland visiting family."We do love our little battle tested family, where our #1 rule is 'we stick together.' Once again this little army will be fighting the good fight, only this time it will be for our Mighty Dad," the Waters family posted. On their Mighty Quinn Facebook page, the family shared that Jarlath Waters suffered a seizure at the Dublin airport on April 7, and he fell and hit his head, breaking several facial bones. Doctors discovered the seizure was caused by a mass on his brain."We’ve struggled like the last six years with two cancer diagnosis, so now were on our third one. So, you know, it was more like, 'why us?'" Jarlath Waters said. Once Jarlath Waters was cleared to return to Boston, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, where Quinn goes for treatment, removed the tumor. On May 2, the family said they received the official diagnosis of glioblastoma, and said he will be starting chemotherapy and radiation in the coming weeks. "I don’t feel like I am gonna sit around wasting time sitting around feeling sorry for myself," Jarlath Waters said. "It's a blessing to be alive. I got a little bit of reminder of how important life is."Quinn had a medulloblastoma the size of a lime removed from his brain stem when he was 3. Two years later, he underwent treatment again after three new tumors were found. The family posted in March that Quinn, who is now in second grade, remains stable without any signs of new disease or growths.Jarlath Waters' oncologist said glioblastoma affects 10,000 to 15,000 Americans a year, and wonders about the odds of a father and son both having brain cancer. "It begs a question in my mind," said Dr. Albert Kim, an oncologist at Mass. General. "We probably don’t know everything scientifically what drives these cancers and why it happened to two people in a nuclear family."Albert said his patient’s age and good health will help him in his battle. In the meantime, the Waters family remains hopeful and asks for prayers. "We have a long road ahead of us, we hope it is very, very long. We will need every single prayer you can offer our way," the family posted. "We hope and pray for a miracle, but maybe that miracle is a lot of 'good time' to make as many memories as possible."WATCH: Dropkick Murphys perform outside home of boy, 3, battling cancer