WASHINGTON, Mo. (WDAF) – The family of a Missouri teen who fought a rare form of cancer says he’s at peace and no longer in pain. Fourteen-year-old Alec Ingram passed away on Thursday after battling osteosarcoma for the past four-and-a-half years.
Ingram broke his arm in 2015, according to the Facebook page, “Alec Ingram’s Fight with Cancer.” A number of tests and MRIs revealed he had osteosarcoma, a cancer that grows from the cells that form bones, usually found in arm and leg bones.
According to Mayo Clinic, this type of bone cancer is rare – less than 20,000 cases are diagnosed each year. St. Jude’s says about 400 children and teens under the age of 20 are diagnosed each year.
Despite the diagnosis, spending his 11th birthday relearning how to walk and spending an Easter in intensive care after his heart temporarily stopped, his family said he lived a full life and touched many hearts.
He was also known for his love of sports cars, and said his final wish was to have his funeral procession made up of sports cars.
“He wants race cars and sports cars to take him to his final resting place,” another post on the Facebook page states. “It has reached so many people and will be an amazing turn out for Alec.”
Another Facebook group has been set up to coordinate the processional. It’s asking anyone with a sports car to come support the family and join the escort, which will be in Washington, Missouri. The city is near St. Louis, and about a three-hour drive from Kansas City.