How is Clarissa navigating difficult decisions as her son EJ Green faces advanced cancer?

 For Clarissa, every hour brings another question no parent should have to face. Her son, EJ Green, was rushed to University Medical Center after doctors found swelling in his brain and multiple tumors, and now his family says they have received devastating news: the cancer has spread into the nerves of his brain. The sudden change has left loved ones searching for words and trying to understand what comes next.

According to the family, doctors told them surgery is no longer a safe option. Attempting to remove the cancer, they were told, could leave EJ in a vegetative state, a possibility his family does not want for their little boy. The news has left Clarissa confronting decisions no mother is prepared to make, while trying to stay present for her son through an overwhelming moment.

Only hours before sharing the latest update, Clarissa had been asking people to pray for a miracle. She hoped doctors would find something, anything, that might give EJ more time and the chance to “grow up, laugh, play, and just be a kid again.” Instead, the family is now trying to absorb what doctors have said while holding onto the possibility that another option could still emerge.

EJ, who is from Dumas, Texas, has been battling an aggressive and rare childhood cancer called atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, or AT/RT. The National Cancer Institute describes this cancer of the brain and spinal cord as rare and fast-growing. Treatment decisions can be complicated, and families may need specialist guidance as they weigh available approaches and possible clinical trials.

For now, EJ’s oncology team is reportedly searching for open clinical trials that might offer another path. The family has not announced that a trial has been found or that EJ is eligible for one. That search leaves a narrow but meaningful question still open, even as doctors have reportedly warned that surgery would carry devastating risks. Until more is known, the family is moving through the uncertainty one moment at a time, hoping a specialist may identify an option that fits EJ’s situation.

At the same time, Clarissa is facing the possibility of bringing EJ home to North Texas and focusing on comfort if no safe treatment option remains. The family is considering what it would mean to spend the time ahead making memories, surrounding him with love, and keeping him as comfortable and free from pain as possible. No final decision is described in the update, and the family’s hopes remain tied to what the medical team may discover.

For a parent, these choices are not simple measures of hope or surrender. They involve weighing what treatment might offer against the risks doctors have explained, while protecting a child’s comfort and dignity. EJ’s family says they are holding him close and taking things “one moment at a time.” Their words reflect both the uncertainty ahead and the immediate importance of being together while the doctors continue their search. In a moment like this, even ordinary time together can feel precious.

Now, the family is asking for prayers and support as they face news that has changed everything. There may be no perfect words for Clarissa, and no message can remove the fear or heartbreak surrounding her son’s diagnosis. But people can remind her that she and EJ are not forgotten, that their love matters in every moment, and that they do not have to face this painful chapter alone. For now, the family is holding onto each other while waiting to learn whether another option is possible, as they wait for guidance from his care team.