Five-year-old twins from Langley, B.C., in remission after long cancer battle

When two-year-old Bennett Overshaw was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2022, his parents asked their son’s oncologist the likelihood his identical twin brother Weston would also develop the potentially deadly cancer. They were told it was 20 per cent.

Four months later, their worst fears were realized when Weston was also diagnosed.

“Once we got Bennett's diagnosis, we were four months into Weston's treatment and I knew how intense it was going to be – and I truthfully did not even know how I was going to be able to logistically do it,” said Alisha Overshaw, the boys’ mom. “My husband still had to be working full time to keep us financially afloat, so it was solely me for those first few months.”

The dual diagnoses required near-daily trips from their home in Langley to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver for treatment.

“It’s hard to get through with one kid and treatment, let alone two simultaneously,” said Alisha. “The beautiful thing about children is that they just roll with the punches, and they didn't even know that their life was any different than any of their peers.”

Two and a half years after the first twin was diagnosed, both boys are now finished treatment and in remission.

“They still have their chemo ports and so we have to wait for those to come out and then, you know, we've sort of slowly started reintegrating them into normal life,” said Alisha.

The brothers have started kindergarten and classmates helped them celebrate when they were both given the all clear by oncologists.

“When Weston initially finished treatment, because he was done before Bennett, it didn't really feel like I could celebrate yet,” their mom said. “Once Bennett finished treatment, it felt like we had finally made it. And I wanted to do something to celebrate that the boys could remember.”

While remission is a huge step in beating acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the family knows the cancer could come back.

“They will be monitored for the rest of their lives. There is always a chance of relapse, which is something that, you know, as a caregiver is always in my mind,” said Alisha.

But for now, the twins, their older brother Jackson and their parents can all exhale, with this stage of their cancer battle finally over.