Celebrity

Grammy-Winner Got A Call Every Parent Fears: His Son Had Cancer

Mamas Linas/NY Daily News

Michael Buble and his wife, Luisana Lopilato, have gone through some tough times together.

Buble and his family had a traumatic few months after his young son, Noah, was diagnosed with liver cancer.

While Lopilato was filming a movie in Buenos Aires, Argentina, their four-year-old son fell ill. She was told by doctors that her son had contracted mumps and had swollen glands. Noah's pediatrician disagreed with the diagnosis and thought that it may be an infection. After prescribing the child antibiotics, they decided to do a full examination to be on the safe side.

"They ran lots of tests, blood analysis, everything," Lopitalo emotionally recalled. "When they did an ultrasound, they said they found something in his stomach. [Doctors] told us they weren't sure what it was, but it was a tumor."

At the time Buble was in England, which left the 30-year-old mother to make an emergency decision.

"I couldn't speak to him by phone. So I got on a flight," she explained. The family has a rule that if anything were to happen to them, they would travel to Los Angeles, which is the halfway point.

"Without speaking to Mike I took the flight," she continued, adding the Buble had a friend in LA who was an oncologist.

Fortunately the family was able to reunite that same day.

Once he received the devastating diagnosis, the 42-year-old "Haven't Met You Yet" singer immediately cancelled all of his upcoming gigs, including a performance at the BBC music awards in December 2016.

The four-year-old was then thought to be going through chemotherapy in a attempt to battle the disease.

"We know he will. The time to start a long and very difficult treatment has come but it's got to be done. They say children are normally strong to put up with chemotherapy and my nephew is a warrior," Lopitalo's sister said.

During the whole ordeal, the family tried to remain positive.

"There are things that happen in life that make you realize that the most important things that you think are important, really aren't," the actress shared. "The most important thing is to have faith and to be strong. There are nights that I still don't sleep and I pray to God because it's still a long process and the worst is over. Thank God."

Hepablastoma is a rare form of liver cancer that affects children under the age of five. It causes a tumor to form in the cells of the liver and if it's not caught early enough than it can spread to the lungs.

Thankfully things seemed to look up for Noah and his family.  

While Noah's recovery process is slow and will be filled with regular check-ups, the family remains optimistic.

"But we are very happy. We are looking forward to thinking about the future, to seeing our children grow," Lopilato said.

In February the iconic musician gave an update about his son's condition.

"We are so grateful to report that our son Noah has been progressing well during his treatment and the doctors are very optimistic about the future for our little boy," Buble told Us at the time. "He has been brave throughout and we continue to be inspired by his courage."

Buble and his wife are also parents to their two-year-old son, Elias.

"Being a parent is a massive blessing, and I don't want to get all new age-y about it but it's given me perspective. It's allowed me to understand deeply that what I do for a living "“ creating music and art and getting to be part of a fragrance or a movie "“ is my job, it's not what defines me. What defines me is I'm Noah and Elias' dad," Buble said.

A source close to the family says that Noah is now "doing very well," and that "he's an energetic little boy!"

The source also reveals that the whole ordeal has brought the family closer together.

"Events like this put everything in perspective," they said.

Mirror.co.uk

After taking nearly a year off work, Buble is also said to be back to his old self.

"[He's] in a really good head space right now," the source said.

With Noah's positive prognosis the source said, "Luisana has been back on set. And Michael is ready to think about going back to work."

But still family is top of his priority list.

"Michael is keeping his workload light so he can spend as much time as possible [with his family]," the source said.

Buble shared a cute moment about how he and his wife keep things light and funny in their marriage.

"When your wife visits you on the set of your new music video and leaves love notes for you in your trailer," he wrote on his Instagram post.

Buble is set to be hosting the 2018 Juno awards in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

"This is really important to him. It's not only a chance to celebrate Canadian artists, but it's also right in his backyard, since he lives in Vancouver," the source explains, sharing that he'll be very hands on with the show.

The singer also announced that he will be performing in two shows, one in Ireland and one in London this coming summer.

Wireimage

His family, however, will still be coming first in his life.

"[Buble] doesn't want to be on the road for a large chunk of time, but he's eager to get back on the stage," the source said.  

In an interview shortly before diagnosis, Buble shared how his family and career affect his life.

"I will fight for balance, and if one suffers, we know which one will go "“ it won't be my kids. I just love them way too much," he said.

Source: The Sun / ET / ET / US Weekly / Mirror

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