'Jacob loves Christmas': Family plans early Christmas for 9-year-old cancer patient in hospital

A nine-year-old boy who was diagnosed with cancer in February 2014 will be celebrating his last Christmas early at a hospital.

Jacob Thompson, who was just five years old when he was detected with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, has limited time left. Doctors have told the boy's family that he is expected to pass away within the month.

Jacob was admitted to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon, on 11 October 2017. Considering how little time he has left alive, his family plans to celebrate one last Christmas with him during the weekend.

"Jacob loves Christmas" his father Roger Guay was quoted as saying by 11 Alive news website.

Jacob's hospital room will be decorated with a tree and lights and the boy will celebrate the festival with his family with some fake snow and a Santa Claus, his father said.

The family has also started a fundraising page on GoFundMe.

Jacob's medical report states that the neuroblastoma has spread to his head — namely the sinuses, bottom of the skull, several spots in the small bones in the inner ear and several spots on the membrane between the skull and brain, says the GoFundMe page.

According to researchers at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University, neuroblastoma is the most common childhood cancer. This cancer forms on certain nerve cells and causes about 15% of all childhood cancer deaths. Most patients get sick before they are two years old.

Since Jacob was admitted in hospital, he has been suffering from pain in the hip, which has restricted his ability to walk and move around. Doctors have told his family to spend as much time as possible with him and to start making arrangements for his passing, the fund-raising page says.