Meet Yazleemar

Yazleemar is outgoing and expressive and has big dreams. She is also a strong preteen who enjoys swimming and spends several days during the week strength training at a local gym where she bikes, climbs ropes and lifts 40-pound weights.

St. Jude patient Yazleemar with her family

“My daughter’s dream is to be an actress, and I don’t doubt she will be that one day.

- José, Yazleemar's dad

More than a decade earlier, in 2012, Yazleemar was diagnosed in Puerto Rico with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the retina, the thin membrane on the inside back of the eye that is stimulated by light.

It was the worst news that a family could receive... Unfortunately, when you hear cancer, you think of death immediately. It’s a word you never expect to hear.

- Yazmín, Yazleemar's mom

St. Jude patient Yazleemar beginning treatment at the hospital.

Doctors referred Yazleemar to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where she was treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Doctors at St. Jude were able to save Yazleemar’s eye.

St. Jude offered more than treatment to Yazleemar and her family.

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live.

We were going through a very difficult time, but the hospital helps you feel better. You leave your [island] with nothing, and you don't arrive at a cold hospital. They are warm, they give you that love you need.

- Yazmín, Yazleemar's mom

Yazleemar returns to St. Jude for regular checkups.