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RALEIGH -- Jonah Parker doesn't mind belated birthdays. He turned 7 years old on Sept. 5 but had to wait almost two months to have his bowling party.

Parker has Burkitt's lymphoma, a cancer most commonly seen in children that typically starts as a fast-growing tumor in the abdomen. His doctor says that fast growth means quick treatment.

“It's kind of front loaded, because it's such a fast growing tumor you have to get on top of it right away, and so the idea is to get the chemotherapy in relatively short time,” said pediatric oncologist Dr. Brent Weston.

Parker’s mom, Kristin, said they first knew something was wrong this summer when he got really sick during a family visit in Atlanta. A trip to the emergency room confirmed her worst fear.

“Your heart just sinks and you just feel so much pain for your child and nobody wants to see their child suffer or hurt or go through this, and it's painful,” she said.

The weeks following, Parker was in and out of North Carolina Children's Hospital for treatment. That meant missing school, soccer practice and afternoon light saber sessions with his little brother. He also caught the H1N1 flu virus, which meant another trip to the hospital and canceling his second attempt at a birthday party.

“I think he was too sick to be disappointed,” Kristin Parker said. “We talked about it and we said, ‘you know, this is going to be OK, we can reschedule it.’”

When he finally got his birthday party, he asked for lots of gifts, but not for himself. His family is donating all of them to the children's hospital.

“Mostly because it would help the kids get distracted when they're like in the hospital and stuff," he said.

The good news for Parker is that Berkitt's lymphoma has an 80 to 90 percent cure rate. He is finished with chemo treatments but will have to go back for a checkup in December to make sure the cancer isn't coming back.