The harsh reality of a disease which doesn’t discriminate and holds many prisoners to a life of chemotherapy and extended recovery returned to the Amanda and Ron Hoff residence in May when their son, Jonathan, was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in his short nine years.

After passing the five-year survival mark in 2006 after his first battle with cancer, Jonathan is now facing a second round of months of chemotherapy treatments after a malignant tumor was removed on his rib cage in April.

Last fall the Hoffs felt a lump on their son’s back. Their hearts sank, but their faith kept them believing that the lump was simply a result of a fall. Concerned when the lump failed to disappear she contacted Jonathan’s physician who closely monitored the area, but who also believed the bump may have been the result of a trauma.

Everyone who knows Jonathan agreed that a bump or bruise was not unusual for a boy who never sits still and who loves riding a four-wheeler, trying to ride bulls with his brother Nick, and whose favorite pastime is swinging on a rope near the hay loft on the family farm near Chaseburg.

From October through February, Jonathan underwent a mass of tests with little visible change to the area. In April that scenario changed and as hard as the family wanted to deny it, Amanda knew the lump was growing. On April 25, Jonathan underwent surgery where surgeons removed the growth and a portion of two ribs.

With no desire to be confined to the hospital, Jonathan, was ready to run, not walk, out of the hospital shortly after surgery. He wanted to go home and aggravate his sisters and try to keep up with his brother. The Hoffs hoped, beyond prayers, that when the test results were complete, their son would receive a clean bill of health, but as strong as their faith was the tests revealed just the opposite.

On May 21, Jonathan received his first round of chemotherapy, which unfortunately left him extremely sick and forced him to remain in the hospital until Memorial Day. With each treatment this young man, who simply wants to be an energetic little boy, tries to refuse the drugs which make him so tired and his body so weak.

For six months, Jonathan must once again receive a very intensive chemotherapy regimen, one that places him in the hospital for days, not hours at a time. He wears a hat to hide his loss of hair, something he wasn’t consciously aware of when he battled the disease at the age of two, but something he is well aware of today. The Hoffs have learned to deal with their son’s disease. Their faith tells them that all things happen for a reason, but in their hearts they wish God would find another way.

“You deal with it the best that you can. Even if it's hard to believe at times, you have to keep the faith and believe the good Lord will help you through it the same way he did last time,” Amanda said.

Jonathan was just two-years-old when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. He was too young to remember the initial shock, a shock his parents will never forget.

Jonathan contracted a very aggressive form of cancer with a dim prognosis for survival. A lump on his rib cage led to a doctor’s visit and the first of many trips in and out of medical centers in Madison and La Crosse, before Jonathan would be given a clean bill of health and a chance to live life without needles, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. At the age of two, he spent one day short of a year receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He had massive radiation burns on his chest and abdomen which faded in time. He spent countless days unable to ingest food after treatments upset his stomach. His hair fell out and he was unable to gain weight. His frail body was ridden with needle marks from the continuous poking and prodding which was required to check his prognosis.

Throughout the entire ordeal the Hoffs never gave up faith that their son would survive. Their belief in God carried them through even when the odds pointed in a different direction. Ron Hoff admits he’s had a hard time dealing with the lack of control which cancer forces upon you.

“Life is easier when you can control your own fate or at least can stack the odds in your favor. But when it strikes an innocent child and you can’t do anything except be there for him and pray,” Ron said after Jonathan’s first battle with cancer.

The Hoff’s strength during round two of dealing with cancer comes from their faith, friends, family and the community.

“Everything happens for a reason. You can’t blame yourself. You can just focus on priorities, faith, family and the future,” Amanda said with a tear in the corner of her eye.

A tear any parent would shed if their child was sick and begging them not to go to a place where fun on the farm is replaced with chemotherapy drugs flowing through your veins. A place where Jonathan doesn’t want to be and all he really wants is a break.

Jonathan will get a short break from his struggles when he travels with his family, by motor home to New Mexico, to watch his brother, Nick Midtlien compete in the national high school rodeo championships July 22-26.