Photo Gallery: Burbank 12-year-old’s battle with rare form of cancer
Christopher Wilke, 12, of Burbank, talks about a strand of beads he has accumulated at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment of a rare disease he is battling on Monday, March 3, 2014. The disease is a a bile duct cancer that is rare for adults, and nearly unheard of for children, so the parents are hoping what can be learned from the treatment of Christopher will help future cases because a lot of what is being done for him is designed for adults. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
“It’s like I’ve been through a lot,” Christopher Wilke said while looking at the strands of beads that symbolize his life story since Jan. 4. That’s the day the David Starr Jordan Middle School student was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile duct.
Christopher Wilke, 12, of Burbank, is at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment of a rare disease he is battling on Monday, March 3, 2014. The disease is a a bile duct cancer that is rare for adults, and nearly unheard of for children, so the parents are hoping what can be learned from the treatment of Christopher will help future cases because a lot of what is being done for him is designed for adults. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
A “Change Works” bracelette on the wrist of Joseph Wilke, the father of Christopher Wilke, 12, of Burbank, at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment of a rare disease he is battling on Monday, March 3, 2014. The bracelette is the idea of friends of Christopher who initially sold 1,000 as a fundraiser for the Wilke family for mounting medical expenses. The friends have ordered 3,000 more bracelettes which they are having no trouble selling at $1 each. The disease Christopher has is a a bile duct cancer that is rare for adults, and nearly unheard of for children, so the parents are hoping what can be learned from the treatment of Christopher will help future cases because a lot of what is being done for him is designed for adults. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
Christopher Wilke, 12, of Burbank, looks at strings of beads that hanging on medical equipment to describe the meaning of each bead color and shape at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment of a rare disease he is battling on Monday, March 3, 2014. The beads have meaning that indicate the different kinds of treatment he has had over the life of his care at the hospital. The disease is a a bile duct cancer that is rare for adults, and nearly unheard of for children, so the parents are hoping what can be learned from the treatment of Christopher will help future cases because a lot of what is being done for him is designed for adults. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
Christopher Wilke, 12, of Burbank, is at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment of a rare disease he is battling on Monday, March 3, 2014. The disease is a a bile duct cancer that is rare for adults, and nearly unheard of for children, so the parents are hoping what can be learned from the treatment of Christopher will help future cases because a lot of what is being done for him is designed for adults. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
Each bead, strung on four long and growing strands, indicates a type of treatment and the number of times for each treatment Christopher Wilke, 12, of Burbank, has had at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment of a rare disease he is battling on Monday, March 3, 2014. The disease is a a bile duct cancer that is rare for adults, and nearly unheard of for children, so the parents are hoping what can be learned from the treatment of Christopher will help future cases because a lot of what is being done for him is designed for adults. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
Christopher Wilke, 12, of Burbank, is at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for treatment of a rare disease he is battling on Monday, March 3, 2014. The disease is a a bile duct cancer that is rare for adults, and nearly unheard of for children, so the parents are hoping what can be learned from the treatment of Christopher will help future cases because a lot of what is being done for him is designed for adults. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)