Teen beats rare bone cancer: ‘A special moment of victory’

By Ben Barry

A 14-year-old who thought his shoulder pain was due to a sports injury was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer.

Evan Lallo, 14, started experiencing pain in his right shoulder in May 2024.

His symptoms persisted, so his mom, Megan Lallo, 41, took him to a physical therapist and chiropractor, who also initially thought his pain was related to an injury he'd picked up while playing lacrosse.

In October 2024, Megan took Evan to three different emergency rooms as he was unable to lift his arm due to the pain, but "nobody could figure out what was going on".

She then booked Evan in with an orthopedic surgeon, who sent Evan for an MRI scan, which revealed a mass on his neck.

A biopsy diagnosed Evan with Ewing sarcoma – a rare cancer – and he underwent 14 cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

In June 2025, Evan received the news that he was cancer-free and rang the 'bravery bell' to celebrate the milestone.

Megan, who works in HR, from Cleveland, Ohio, said: "Evan is very athletic, he is a tri-sport athlete.

"He plays lacrosse, basketball and football.

"At the time, he had been playing a lot of lacrosse, so when the symptoms presented themselves, they showed up in the arm he used for that sport.

"We took him to a physical therapist and a chiropractor, and they also thought it was a sports injury due to how active he was."

In October 2024, the pain in Evan's right arm persisted, and when Megan picked Evan up from school, he said he wasn't able to lift up his arm.

Megan took Evan to three different emergency rooms and says medics couldn't work out what was wrong with him, so she went to an orthopedic surgeon who booked him in for an MRI.

Megan said: "We got the news on Halloween night that Evan had a mass on his neck.

"My husband, Matt, and I sat on the couch, dumbfounded. All along, we had presumed it was sports-related.

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"We were absolutely crippled, it was shattering news – it was far beyond what we expected."

Within 12 hours, Megan and Evan found themselves at the Cleveland Clinic, where Evan had a biopsy to determine what the mass was.

But they weren't able to get enough of the mass to get a concrete diagnosis, so Evan had to go back for another biopsy.

The biopsy confirmed that Evan had Ewing sarcoma, and the very next day he started chemotherapy.

Megan said: "Evan went from being a relatively healthy kid the day prior to cancer treatment for seven months.

"Along with the day-to-day appointments, we spent more than 70 nights in the hospital over the course of his treatment."

Evan had lost a lot of function in his right arm due to the tumor's impact on his nerves and spine. After he got to a stable point in his cancer treatment, addressing the mobility in his arm was next.

In May 2025, Evan underwent a nerve transfer so that he could retain function in his right arm.

Neurosurgeon Megan Jack, MD, who performed the surgery, said: "We were watching Evan closely to see if treating the cancer would take the pressure off his nerves and allow them to heal on their own.

"Fortunately, he regained a significant amount of function in his bicep, so he can bend his elbow. However, he didn't recover much movement in his shoulder, which affected his ability to lift his arm up."

After completing 14 cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Evan had an MRI, CT and PET scan to check the treatment had worked.

In June 2025, Evan and his family were given the news that he was cancer-free, and a few days later, Evan was able to ring the 'bravery bell'.

Megan said: "It was such a special moment of victory for Evan and pride for all of us watching.

"There was nothing like hearing that bell. He was surrounded by so much love that day.

"It was an emotional moment."

Evan added: "I was surprised by how many people were there to support me that day. It meant a lot seeing everyone who cared for me along the way.

"It was nice seeing everyone who helped care for me over all those months, even one of my favorite nurses drove a long way to be there and surprise me."