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'Who's next?' Jenison brothers diagnosed with cancer, search for cause

Josh received his cancer diagnosis the same day Shawn was honored by the community for reaching remission.

JENISON, Mich. - At nearly 2 years old Addison VanPutten's laughs and screams take over the Jenison household. It's a welcoming sound as Kim VanPutten sifts through old cancer screenings on her cellphone.

Kim is waiting for the day she doesn't have to do this anymore.

"It's been really difficult," she said. "I've asked myself, my husband has asked himself numerous times, what did we do?"

The Jenison mom had to watch last year, as both of her sons battled stage 4 cancer. Josh received his diagnosis the same day Shawn was honored by the community for reaching remission.

"Celebrating one thing and then being absolutely devastated about the other; it was a tough day all around," Kathleen Kasnowicz, Shawn and Josh's sister said in a March 2018 interview with 13 ON YOUR SIDE.

Tough days followed that March interview, like one frightful one a couple of months ago.

"I had all four wisdom teeth out. In the recovery of the wisdom teeth, there were red flags that kept showing up, symptoms that they kept telling me to watch out for that show signs of lymphoma coming back," Josh VanPutten said.

"The oncologist and my oral surgeon thought I should get some early scans and we got them and they were clean. Now's the first time I've been able to say I don't have active cancer."

Josh waited nearly a year to say those special words and a few days that followed, he hoped he could say the same about his brother.

"You kind of think of the worse always, ya know," Shawn said after walking out of his cancer screening.

But what followed was a smile and a thumbs up because his scans came back clear. For the first time in over a year, the VanPuttens were cancer-free.

'I was in shock. I honestly did not think we would hear that," Kim said as she began to cry. "When I heard I was like—I just couldn't believe it."

"What are the chances that two with their first round would both go into remission?" Kasnowicz asked.

But really, what were the chances to have to fighting cancer to begin with?

The VanPuttens wanted to know if anyone would be next. Thanks to Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, the family will hopefully get their answer. The VanPuttens are putting together their medical history for genetic testing.

"I truly think knowledge is power. So if we understand why, we can perhaps treat it better, we can screen for it better. We may be able to prevent things," Dr. Judy Hiemenga said.

Geneticists figure out if genetics are why a family has a cluster of people all with the same medical condition and apply that information to treatments for those fighting cancer and those who may have to fight in the future.

The VanPutten's want to make sure Addison and other VanPutten children's squeals and laughter fill a home for a lifetime.

"I think it's important for me to get genetic testing because of my daughter [Addison] and with what I've been through it puts her at an increased risk," Josh said.

"We don't know and we may never know but we're going to look for some answers," Kim added.

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