St. Jude patient Vanessa with her parents
Vanessa's parents, Josefa and Eliseo, took Vanessa to the doctor several times because of the dark spots on her skin.
“She was not feeling herself,” Josefa said.
A bruise under her chin led Mom and Dad to taking Vanessa to a different doctor who ran more tests. Following the results of these tests, Vanessa was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood.
Vanessa was referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she received five rounds of chemotherapy. She finished treatment in June 2021 and returns for monthly check-ups.
St. Jude patient Vanessa
Families, like Vanessa's, never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.
Meet more patients
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Aspen was not yet two when diagnosed with neuroblastoma. She was treated in the Philippines but six months later, the cancer was spreading so she was referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Avyan
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Meet Ay'Den
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Meet Eduardo
At 6 months old, Eduardo was referred to St. Jude where he was diagnosed with liver cancer. His treatment included surgery to remove the mass and chemotherapy.
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Meet Eli
At just 6 years old, Eli was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. His family was referred to St. Jude for his treatment and Eli underwent surgery to remove the tumor and a portion of his tibia.
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Meet Eri'Elle
Eri’Elle was just two years old when her troubles started. Her mother took her to a pediatrician and insisted they run tests to get to the bottom of her baby’s symptoms.
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Meet Gabe
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Meet Mikayla
Over Christmas 2020, something was wrong with then one-year-old Mikayla. Referred to St. Jude, her cancer was identified as acute myeloid leukemia. Mikayla successfully underwent chemotherapy.
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Meet Patient Lucas
Around Thanksgiving of 2020, three-year-old Lucas was complaining of headaches. His parents thought he just wanted attention. An MRI indicated something more serious.
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Meet Sariyah
In the summer of 2020, photos taken of St. Jude patient Sariyah by her mother showed signs of cancerous tumors in both eyes at the age of 18 months.