‘American Horror Story’ Creator Ryan Murphy Announces 5-Year-Old Son Ford Is ‘Cancer-Free’

Ryan Murphy has fantastic news about his son’s health! The American Horror Story creator revealed that 5-year-old son Ford is “cancer-free” during Variety‘s Power of Women event Friday, nearly a year since he first opened up about his child’s cancer diagnosis.

“Three years ago my beautiful son Ford went for a standard typical 18-month exam,” Murphy said, while presenting an award to Dana Walden, who was being honored for her with the UCLA Jonson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

He said that during the checkup, his son “coughed at the exact right moment” as the doctor perfumed and abdominal exam.

“He sat up, she was able to press her fingers in a bit deeper, Her eyes widened. Something was not right. From that moment came a day of terror and scans,” he said, as PEOPLE first reported, adding doctors found that his son had neuroblastoma. “My baby had a tumor the size of a tennis ball at 18 months growing behind his abdominal wall. And the doctor said this was bad.”

After finding out about Ford’s diagnosis, Murphy said he reached out to Walden, who is godmother to both his children.

“Ford went through a six-hour surgery and years of intense exams which required hours and hours of anesthesia. I cannot express to you in this room how difficult this was on him, how difficult this was for our family,” he said, then adding how while he has yet to “emotionally recover” from it all, “Ford has.”

“I am so proud to proclaim that he is cancer-free,” Murphy said, inspiring a round of applause from the audience.

Murphy then said how much he learned from the difficult chapter, saying cancer “is a disease that touches us all.”

“We must help and we must be prepared and we must be proactive,” he said, before recalling how his family made a $10 million donation to the Children’s Hospital last year, where Ford received treatment — thanks to Walden.

“There is now a wing dedicated under Ford’s name that specializes in helping children without our resources,” he said. “Children without a champion like we had in Dana Walden.”

The joyous news comes almost a year since Murphy first opened up about Ford’s condition in an Instagram post on his fourth birthday.

“I’d like you to meet Ford Theodore Miller Murphy. Today is a big day in his and our family’s lives,” Murphy captioned a smiling photo of his son.

“Two years ago, this sweet little innocent boy with a deep belly laugh and an obsession with Monster Trucks was diagnosed with neuroblastoma… an often fatal pediatric cancer. Ford’s cancer — an abdominal tumor the size of a tennis ball — was found during a normal check-up by his brilliant pediatrician Dr. Lauren Crosby,” Murphy wrote. “From there, Ford has undergone a huge surgery and several difficult procedures.”

At the time he announced the $10 million donation to the hospital.