CEDAR FALLS -- On good days Brady Woodward likes playing outside, usually catching bullfrogs in his mother's backyard or playing football with his siblings and friends.

These days the fourth-grader's bullfrog catching opportunities are limited. The amphibians carry salmonella that can be especially dangerous for his compromised immune system. In October, Brady was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare muscle cancer.

Doctors removed a muscle from his left thigh and then started him on a 42-cycle chemotherapy treatment that is just more than half complete. Each chemotherapy cycle lasts three weeks, with a single outpatient treatment in weeks one and two and a more potent in-patient dose in the third week. A shorter radiation regimen was completed in January.

"It's hard to explain the fear of everything," said Sue Woodward, Brady's mother. "First there was the fear of cancer and then the fear of the medicine and what it would do to him. He is very susceptible to so many things, and we have to be very careful that we don't contract anything."

Brady lives with his mother and half-siblings in Oelwein.

Paul Woodward, Brady's father, said it has been increasingly difficult to see his son go through the treatments, especially as the chemo cocktails began to wear on him.

"The last few in-patient chemos have been tough," said Paul Woodward, who sees Brady on the weekends and during his weekly treatments. "The degree of his sickness has intensified. They warned us about that, but it's still hard."

Paul's family is planning a benefit for Brady on May 2. The event will include a freewill donation meal from Zippy's BBQ and silent and live auctions, offering items like a 26-inch LCD television, large toolbox and power tools and four tickets to next year's Iowa-UNI football game. Sue Woodward's family has a benefit planned in June. Friends also have planned a golf outing to support the family.

Brady's chemotherapy treatments are done in Iowa City, and on one of the trips he met Hawkeye football coach Kirk Ferentz, who invited him to a basketball game and to watch an indoor football practice. During the practice Brady met former Iowa running back Shonn Greene.

"His eyes just lit up," Paul Woodward said. "So there has been at least a little good, despite the bad."

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.