Norwich twin boys, 6, don’t let eye cancer slow them down
Norwich — Twins Cayden and Carter Torres are your typical balls of energy at age 6, running everywhere, playing T-Ball, quickly becoming experts on their new bicycles and smiling from the start of the school day to dismissal.
But for Cayden’s closed left eye and occasional tilt of his head to get a better look at something, there are few signs of the ordeal the twin boys and their parents went through in their first year of life.
The boys could not even walk yet when their parents noticed Cayden’s left eye seemed “lazy” when the boys were just 8 months old.
Their mother, Tayla Barker, said their Norwich pediatrician referred Cayden immediately to the Connecticut Children’s Ophthalmology and Optical Shop in Glastonbury, part of Connecticut Children’s Hospital. Cayden was examined on a Friday in January 2018, but Cayden’s eye was obstructed by something that prevented doctors from seeing into it.
The doctors in Glastonbury sent the family the next Monday to Boston Children’s Hospital to be examined by Dr. Efraim Gonzalez.
“As soon as we got there, within 20 minutes, he diagnosed him,” Barker said. “When we told him Cayden was a twin, we had to go home and bring
Both infants were diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer that begins in the retina. According to information on the Mayo Clinic’s website, this cancer most commonly affects young children. Cayden and Carter both had cancer in both eyes, Barker said.
Carter the very next day.”
Both infants were diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer that begins in the retina. According to information on the Mayo Clinic’s website, this cancer most commonly affects young children. Cayden and Carter both had cancer in both eyes, Barker said.
Although hereditary, Barker and the boys’ father, Angel Torres, and older brothers, Angel Torres, Jr., now 14, and Giani Torres, now, 10, have not had cancer.
Cayden’s case was more severe, and it was too late to save his left eye, which was removed immediately by surgery, Barker said. Over the next two months, the family drove back and forth from Norwich to Boston, as both boys underwent five rounds of chemotherapy and then laser treatments.
After a year of treatment, Boston Children’s Hospital transferred their care to Connecticut Children’s Hospital in Hartford under oncologist
Dr. Natasha Frederick, whom Barker called “amazing!”
The boys have their eyes examined at Connecticut Children’s Hospital every six months and undergo MRIs and brain scans for any signs of the return of cancer. Barker said the twins lack a key gene that suppresses growth of cancer cells, and they remain at risk for retinoblastoma and other types of cancers.
Barker and the children live in Norwich. She is separated from Angel Torres, Sr., who lives in Willimantic and remains involved in their lives, Barker said.
The twins know they have cancer and are not shy to mention it.
On Thursday, when Barker got home from work as a patient service coordinator at Backus Hospital, she told the boys that Angel’s basketball practice was canceled that day, Cayden misheard the word and responded: “I have cancer.” His mother said, “yes,” and she explained what she actually said.
Barker didn’t get to take off her coat that evening. Despite the cold drizzling rain, the boys grabbed their already wet sneakers, eager to play outside. For their sixth birthday on April 25, each received a bicycle with training wheels, a super soaker squirt gun and a scooter with lights.
First, they took a quick run on the bikes down Melrose Park Road, mom and Angel running along with them. Then, ignoring the chilly air, they grabbed the super soakers and chased each other across the front yard, laughing and asking for refills, as Barker tried in vain to say she was out of bounds.
Barker paid $2,200 for a prosthetic eye for Cayden, not covered by insurance, but the boy won’t wear it. His left eyelids are mostly closed, with a little slit open. Friends sometimes ask what happened to his eye, and Cayden answers: “My eye was sick, so they had to take it out,” his mother said.
Because of their diagnosis, the boys were placed in special education birth-to-age-3 programs. They started preschool at age 3 at the Bishop Early Learning Center in Norwich. They are now in kindergarten at the John B. Stanton School.
“They love school. They love interacting with people,” Barker said. “They are the busiest bodies I have ever seen in my life.”
Stanton Principal Susan Lessard said at school, Cayden and Carter are “all smiles all the time.” They arrive smiling and greeting teachers and friends. During the day, they hold hands with classmates and prance down the school’s long main hallway.
“They smile when they enter the building,” Lessard said. “They smile when they leave. You really can’t tell the difference in these kids, whether they are reading or at lunch or in the hallway. They are always so happy.”
At age 6, it’s still too early for eye doctors to tell how good Cayden’s and Carter’s vision is, Barker said. Cayden sometimes tilts his head to see different angles. They are learning to read. Carter likes to identify letters, saying his name has two r’s, or when he sees a T, that his last name starts with T.
“They are incredibly active,” Barker said. “They play T-Ball for Norwich Little League on the Hot Rods. They love to play outside, love making new friends.”
Barker praised the boys’ doctors in Boston and at Connecticut Children’s in Hartford. When they were babies, their social worker at Connecticut Children’s Hospital urged Barker to sign up for the Make a Wish Foundation program, which grants sometimes elaborate wishes for children with serious illnesses.
After three years of waiting, including pandemic delays, the family will be heading to Disney World on May 15 for one week. Both boys chose Disney for their wish, Barker said. Barker, Torres, Sr., his girlfriend and all four boys will go.
They also will get a festive send-off. This Monday at 2 p.m., the rear Stanton schoolyard will be turned into a carnival ground for all three kindergarten classes, the boys’ family and friends, courtesy of Make a Wish.
Make a Wish provided “a small budget,” and Barker sought donations to make the day special for all the children. Norwich police and fire departments will bring vehicles for the children to explore.
Vocatura’s Bakery and Irene’s Family Restaurant donated pizza. Universal Bounce House Adventure donated use of a bounce house. T-Shirt World will provide 65 tie-dyed T-shirts for the children. A face painter, a balloon artist and a rock painter donated their services as well.
Cayden and Carter are in different kindergarten classes per the school system’s practice of separating twins when possible, Lessard said. When it came to planning Monday’s party, it was Cayden and Carter who insisted the children in all three Stanton kindergarten classes get to come.
“They are thriving here at Stanton,” Lessard said. “They are the happiest kids.”