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Infant Son Of Patriots’ Nate Solder Has Kidney Cancer — Hudson Undergoing Chemotherapy

By Shelley Hazen
Published on: 06:30 PST, Nov 17, 2015

The 4-month-old son of New England Patriots offensive tackle Nate Solder is undergoing chemotherapy to treat kidney cancer.

Hudson Solder was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor on his kidney in October, the Boston Herald reported. Since then, Nate’s son has had a few rounds of chemo at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Solder announced his son’s diagnosis at an event Monday night called the Above & Beyond the Gratitude Gala, which benefits the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, the Washington Post reported. Nate, only 27, and his wife, Lexi, welcomed Hudson into the world in July.

Nate told the gala crowd that they decided to share their son’s story, hoping it could provide comfort to other families struggling with a cancer diagnosis in a young child, ESPN added.

Sadly, this is the second time the Solder family has had to deal with cancer. In April, Nate revealed that he’d been diagnosed with testicular cancer the year prior, and shared the news because of his position as a NFL player. He’d hoped to spread awareness about the disease.

Luckily, Nate had surgery to remove the affected testicle and afterward, doctors confirmed that the cancer hadn’t spread to the rest of his body, Sports Illustrated added.

Once Solder had recovered, he returned to training camp and began all 16 regular-season games in the 2014-15 season, as well as the Patriots’ four playoff games — the team went on to beat the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

Nate is currently on injured reserve after tearing his biceps in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Plenty of people have reached out to offer their support to Solder and his family. Among them is this one from ESPN, which tweeted to Nate their “wish all the best to the Hudson and the Solder family during this difficult time,” Hollywood Life added.

Fortunately, the prognosis for a Wilms’ tumor is very good, according to the Mayo Clinic. This kind of tumor is known as a nephroblastoma, and is the most common cancer of the kidneys in kids. It usually effects only one kidney, though can be found in both simultaneously, and appears mostly in children aged 3 to 4. It becomes more rare after age 5.

A Wilms tumor can cause some symptoms, but sometimes strikes without warning. Most signs are centralized in the abdomen, including swelling, a mass, and pain; fever and bloody urine are also symptoms. Unfortunately, no one knows what causes a Wilms’ tumor, like the one now affecting little Hudson Solder. Sometimes, DNA errors that lead to this kind of tumor can be passed from parent to child, but in most cases, this link isn’t apparent.

The gala Nate attended Monday raised money for fellow former Patriot Andruzzi’s foundation; last year, the fundraiser raked in almost $1 million. The foundation provides support to families dealing with cancer, and Nate Solder said Joe was the first person to step forward with help after Hudson was diagnosed.

Andruzzi played for the Patriots from 2000 to 2004, and for the NFL for 10 years. He works for the Patriots as a strength and conditioning coach, and like Nate, is also a cancer survivor. In 2007, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt’s lymphoma, and received aggressive treatment over several months to save his life.

Since Nate Solder shared the news about his son, he’s taken to social media to express his gratitude to his supporters. Solder’s faith is apparent in his Twitter profile, and he assured his fans and followers that “God is better than we can imagine.”

[Photo by Elsa / Getty Images]

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