WATERLOO - Cancer claimed the life of Derrick Galle Saturday.

The 15-year-old Waterloo boy died at Cedar Valley Hospice Home after a lifetime of health problems. He suffered from neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder in which soft tissue tumors entwine with blood vessels and veins. Galle was first diagnosed at 10 months old with the disorder. The tumors sometimes become cancerous, as they did with him.

Four years ago, doctors found a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor behind Galle's left knee. Following unsuccessful chemotherapy, his left leg was amputated in October 2005.

Doctors discovered in November 2007 that the cancer had returned to his body and was in both of his lungs. Galle was pulled out of school to allow for regular trips to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for five-day-long chemotherapy treatments.

The Courier wrote about his battle with cancer when Bunger Middle School classmates organized a fundraising game between the girls eighth-grade basketball team and school staff members in December 2007. Galle was in the newspaper again in May 2008 when former Hawkeye basketball player and Waterloo native Mike Henderson visited his home to present him with a signed Iowa jersey.

Galle also suffered from severe scoliosis and had a collapsed lung. He had been through about 25 surgeries over the years because of his health problems.

Galle is survived by his parents, Heather and Danny, and his sister, Megan. Funeral services are 10 a.m. Wednesday at Grace Lutheran Church, Waterloo, with burial in Garden of Memories. Visitation will be 4 to 7 p.m. today at Dahl-Van Hove-Schoof Funeral Home, Cedar Falls, and for an hour before services Wednesday at the church.