My son is named Charles Edward Gore III, but we call him Chase. His favorite superhero is Superman, and that’s who we think he is. He fought cancer1 for four years. Even with all that he went through, he never once threw a pity party. He didn’t complain. 

I think having autism2 has helped Chase in some ways. He has a routine, and by golly, he’s going to stick to it no matter what. No matter how badly he felt, he got up in the morning, brushed his teeth, put on his clothes and made the bed. Sometimes we tried to get him to loosen up, but he said his doctors wouldn’t want him to do that. 

It made all the difference to know that Chase had a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists and dieticians who were all fighting for him together. You can’t ask for any better than that. 

In 2020, Chase rang the hospital bell to let everyone know he’s cancer-free. We couldn’t be more proud of him. I hope he knows that he can do anything. 

 

Chase lives in West Virginia with his mother, Lee Ann; his father, Charles Jr.; and his twin brothers, Jonathan and Brian. 

Charlies, wearing a superman cap, holding a superman balloon and wearing a painted superman logo on his forehead, sitting in a medical room with two women. One with blonde hair and one with black hair. The women are smiling.

From left are Charles Edward Gore III (aka Chase), child life specialist Diana Swinehart and social worker Milvon Bryson. | Photo: Cleveland Clinic

Notes

  1. To treat his stage 4 hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma, Chase received chemotherapy, radiation therapy and bone marrow transplants from one of his brothers and their father.
  2. Chase was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 3. 

Superman fan Charles Gore III is pretty super himself.