For St. Jude patient Ashtyn, little moments in life embody big hope

At 5 years old, Ashtyn already was a competitive athlete, dazzling in sequined cheerleader outfits and wielding a youth-sized softball mitt and bat. At 4, she got her first dog, Bentley, an adorable toy poodle. She started preschool at 3 and took her first tumbling class at 2. She had her ears pierced as a baby. 

All special moments that make up a young life.

But before Ashtyn could reach her milestone first day of kindergarten, she got sick and was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. Her moms were terrified. “Is this it?” her mom Kiara asked. “My child only gets to live to be 5?”

With seven months of treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ashtyn survived — and then thrived. 

She got to experience her first day of kindergarten at the school at St. Jude and once back home in Kentucky, first days of first, second, third, fourth and fifth grades. She got softball games and cheer competitions, family vacations to California and Hawaii, and movie nights on the couch with popcorn surrounded by her family.

Now Ashtyn is a sixth grader. Middle school, another milestone. At 11, she has a list of moments to come that she’s excited about. Moments that matter.

Life changes in a moment

Her family’s life changed when Ashtyn was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor in April 2018.

The 5-year-old was sassy, full of energy and fiercely independent. Ashtyn got herself ready for preschool in the mornings — dressing, brushing her teeth, pulling on her coat and backpack, all on her own. She’d even talked early — and in full sentences, skipping the baby talk. She made cheer squad at just 3 and loved it.

But suddenly Ashtyn got dizzy, wobbling during cheer practice. She complained of headaches and vomited. 

Kiara made an appointment with their pediatrician and, at the suggestion of a friend, took Ashtyn to an optometrist. The optometrist saw swelling behind Ashtyn’s eyes and sent her to the emergency room at the local hospital. An MRI revealed a mass in her head.

Two days later, Ashtyn had surgery to resect her brain tumor, later diagnosed as medulloblastoma. Kiara almost couldn’t believe it. “You never think it might be you one day,” she said. “You never think in a million years it will be you.”

Kiara couldn’t help but think of all the moments Ashtyn might not get. A first day of kindergarten. Her first visit from the Tooth Fairy. A 6th birthday party ─ or any more birthdays at all.

Moments at St. Jude

Following her initial surgery, Ashtyn was referred to St. Jude, some 380 miles from the family’s home in Kentucky, because she fit the criteria for SJMB 12, a clinical trial that used both clinical risk and analysis of the tumor’s molecular make-up to determine treatment. Medulloblastoma is one of the most common pediatric malignant brain tumors, but the molecular make-up of the tumor affects the severity of the disease.

After her arrival at St. Jude, Ashtyn underwent a second brain surgery at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital to complete removal of her tumor. When starting its brain tumor program in 1985, St. Jude partnered with Le Bonheur to create one of the largest pediatric surgical brain tumor programs in the United States that continues to this day. 

St. Jude also treated Ashtyn with proton beam radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She received physical and occupational therapy and other supportive therapies.

“I’m experiencing medicine completely differently than I ever have before,” her mom Brittney, a family and sports medicine physician, said during Ashtyn’s treatment. The focus on research. The specialization. The collaboration. And the family never received a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.

Ashtyn said what helped her be brave was meeting other kids who were going through what she was going through. If they could do it, so could she.

For Brittney, the experience was a roller coaster of emotion: “Fear, hope, confusion, sorrow, gratitude, joy... sometimes all in the same day.” The moms kept their fear in check for Ashtyn’s sake. 

“I had to keep everything in,” Kiara said. “I had to make everything positive because I needed her to trust me.” Trust that she’d get more moments.

Ashtyn got her first day of kindergarten at St. Jude. She trick-or-treated in the hospital dressed as one of The Incredibles. She celebrated her No More Chemo Party, a tradition at St. Jude. 

And then Kiara and Brittney got to take their daughter home. Another moment they hadn’t dared hope they’d get.

Best day ever

Life for the family ─ Kiara, Brittney, Aubryee, now 15, Ashtyn, and brothers Britten, who’s 3, and Bransen, just 15 months old ─ returned to its familiar routines of work, school, cheer practice and dinner together around the kitchen table. 

When Ashtyn finished treatment at St. Jude, she returned for checkups, every three months at first and then every six months and now once a year. Every trip back reminded Ashtyn her cancer could come back. She still worries about it a little bit.

Kiara can’t imagine a time when she’ll ever not worry. Anytime any of her children get sick or get a bruise, she can’t help but think, “Oh no, it’s cancer.”

They all worry a little bit less with every moment Ashtyn gets.

Her first school dance. Her promotion to Level 2 in cheer this season. (Ashtyn’s favorite stunt is the basket toss, where she, as a flyer, gets thrown into the air.)

While Ashtyn gets a little nervous before competitions, all that disappears once she gets up on stage. Her adrenaline kicks in, and she focuses on the routine, thrilling in the moment. 

This summer, Ashtyn celebrated five years of clear scans with a surprise party and cake at a St. Jude event. She describes it as the best day ever. A big moment for childhood cancer survivors. After five years of clear scans, there’s a lower risk of recurrence.

Promised moments

Every moment promises the next one ─ and Ashtyn has so many moments she’s looking forward to. 

Her first choir concert.

Maybe trying out for her school’s cheer squad next year.

One day, a trip to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower.

High school graduation. College. She wants to be a doctor in sports medicine like her mom.

Ashtyn is in a hurry to grow up. Already, Kiara and Brittney see her strength. Ashtyn used to not talk much about her diagnosis. Now she is proud to be a brain cancer survivor. Kiara tells her, “You survived cancer, girl. You can do anything. There is nothing in this world you cannot do.”

Her moms tell her to slow down. She has the rest of her life to be an adult. But they can’t wait, either, to see who Ashtyn turns out to be. What she does. What moments she celebrates.