Cesar Canto, second from right, of Santa Barbara passed away this week, his family said. He and his wife Alicia Canto were both diagnosed with cancer in 2021 while raising their three children.
Cesar Canto, second from right, of Santa Barbara passed away this week, his family said. He and his wife Alicia Canto were both diagnosed with cancer in 2021 while raising their three children. Credit: GoFundMe photo

More than three years after Alicia and Cesar Canto shared the story of their double cancer battle, the Santa Barbara family is again asking the community for help.

In April 2022, Noozhawk reported on the couple’s nearly unthinkable situation: Both parents had been diagnosed with cancer while raising three children.

Alicia was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and Cesar had been diagnosed with olfactory neuroblastoma. To care for their family, the couple coordinated their chemotherapy schedules so one parent could be home with the children while the other received treatment.

For a time, that approach helped them get through an extraordinarily difficult chapter. Alicia underwent chemotherapy, radiation, several surgeries and is now in remission, though she remains on a five-year treatment plan, continuing to receive infusions. Cesar also went into remission, following three surgeries and 33 rounds of radiation.

Only two months later, however, more cancer was found throughout Cesar’s body.

What started as fatigue and back pain became far more serious. The cancer, which typically remains in a patient’s head and neck area, had metastasized throughout his lymph nodes and body. By September, he could no longer walk.

He had been in a wheelchair since then and was placed on hospice care in January, Alicia said. He passed away on Friday.

Alicia had taken a leave of absence from work to care for Cesar and their three children. Their youngest child, 16, attends San Marcos High School and plays soccer. Their middle daughter attends SBCC and has a 1-year-old son. Their oldest daughter is attending college in New York and is expected to graduate in May. She had taken time as well to come home and be with the family.

Alicia said their family was so grateful for the support they received from the Santa Barbara community in the past, sharing that any amount helps and means so much.

A GoFundMe campaign, set up by the couple’s eldest daughter, Evony, has been created to help the family cover medical expenses and everyday living costs during this time.

Ann Pieramici is a Noozhawk contributing writer. She can be reached at news@noozhawk.com.