Local teenager, Alex Yang, fighting for life after cancer diagnosis and failed clinical trial
Blake Arthur
COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) — Sometimes in life you come across someone who makes a lasting impact on your life for reasons you can’t fully comprehend.
I first met Alex Yang on Sunday, Jan. 19 during the final round of the American Express golf tournament, 9 months after he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also known as T-cell All.
At that time, in January of 2025, Alex was doing well and headed towards remission.
But a few months later in April, that all changed.
And now, Alex is fighting for his life.
“It was really tough to hear the news of the relapse, especially when everything was going so well and it seemed like everything would finally work out,” said Alex Yang.
Alex Yang is a 17-year-old who attends Palm Desert high school. But right now he’s not in school. He’s at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia after being selected for trial.
“So Alex needs a bone marrow transplant. But in order to get to the bone marrow transplant, he needs to be in complete remission. He wasn’t able to do that through chemo, therefore, our last option left is the Car-T (trial),” said Geno Yang.
Everything has happened so fast. I’ve been speaking with Alex’s mom, Jamie, almost daily, getting updates. And recently, got the bad news. Alex’s trial had failed with the cancer coming back worse than before.
“As a mother, it’s so hard for me, to watch him suffer and going through pain. This was the most difficult thing to watch as a parent, but I believe in Alex. He’s such a strong kid and he never gives up,” said Jamie Yang.
Alex’s survival rate is extremely low, but his spirit remains extremely high, as he’s going to fight this until the very end.
“Even if my options were running out or are running out, I just, I don’t want to give up before I try, or like, I want, I want to see this to the end. I really don’t like giving up,” said Alex.
It’s been an incredibly difficult year and a half for Alex and his family, but if there is a silver lining in all of this, it’s that Alex’s strength and character has inspired so many.
“He’s the one that reassures us that everything is gonna be OK. The fact that he’s holding it together like that. How can I not, right? How can I not as a parent, be proud and feed off that and be just as strong or even stronger than, than how he is. I don’t think I could be stronger than him, honestly, just a special kid. I mean, it’s just unbelievable,” said Geno.
Alex needs something unbelievable to happen right now. He needs a miracle to save his life.
“I just want a normal life. Just wanna be able to go to school, hang out with my friends, you know, go to the gym, things like that, the movies. I could get my driver’s license, I’m pretty behind on that,” said Alex.
“He probably didn’t want to tell you, but yeah, one thing he wanted to do was, uh, go on a ride in a fighter jet. He wants to go in a fighter jet with, you know, like the Blue Angels,” said Geno.
A fighter jet for the ultimate fighter. Hopefully that day comes. The reality though is it might not. But that doesn’t take away from who Alex is as a son, a brother and genuine human being.
“Be kind to someone, cause you never know what they are going through, and just a small act of kindness can really make someone’s day or help them in more ways than you can imagine,” said Alex.
Alex remains in Philadelphia receiving radiation treatment.
The family tells me they do not expect Alex to get any better and they are preparing for the worst possible outcome.
Rarely do I do this, but rarely have I ever come across someone as special as local teenager Alex Yang. If you’d like to help the Yang family during this difficult time, please do so. They are some of the kindest and strongest people I’ve ever met. @KESQ https://t.co/3XHuXGyN1q
— Blake Arthur (@BlakeArthur24) September 24, 2025
If you would like to support the Yang family in Alex’s fight against cancer, there is a GoFundMe page where you can donate. The family is deeply appreciative for any support during this difficult time.