Amir has been a patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital his whole life.
Shortly after birth, his family learned he had sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that causes red blood cells to become hard and sickle-shaped, instead of soft and round.
St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases, such as sickle cell disease.
St. Jude patient Amir with mom, Deyona, and Director of Patient Services, Yvonne Carroll JD.
I knew about St. Jude. But I had no idea everything they do for the patients, how in-depth the care is.
Amir's treatment includes daily penicillin and hydroxyurea, and he visits St. Jude monthly for checkup appointments.
From our first sickle cell disease research grant in 1958, to pioneering the use of hydroxyurea in pediatric sickle cell disease patients, St. Jude has been committed to researching, understanding and improving standards of care for this disease since the very beginning.
Today, we are leading the Sickle Cell Clinical Research and Intervention Program (SCCRIP), which studies how sickle cell disease progresses over time, from childhood into adulthood, and how we can improve the quality of life for sickle cell disease patients while we continue to search for cures.
At St. Jude, they care about the family and the patient. That really means a lot.
Amir is an energetic, caring toddler who loves trucks and toy trolls.
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Amir's, never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Meet more patients
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Reid's big day on the green
This year, St. Jude patient Reid, who was treated for a cancerous tumor, was selected to have a FedEx plane named after him at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational®.
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Halloween Traditions for Family Fun
Halloween is a fun time of year for kids, whether they’re carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating or telling stories about ghouls and ghosts. See how St. Jude patients celebrated at home and at the hospital during 2019.
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Meet Mia
Mia is a friendly, caring child who was referred to St. Jude from her home country of Nicaragua when she was 5 years old. She was diagnosed with anaplastic ependymoma, a malignant tumor in her brain.
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Meet Eleanor
Eleanor is a determined baby who arrived at St. Jude on her first birthday. She was diagnosed with down syndrome and a type of blood cancer.
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Meet Brinley
In 2015, Brinley was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. She was cancer free for more than two years when, in 2019, her family learned the cancer had returned.
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Meet Abraham
After a CT scan revealed Abraham had a mass on his brain, identified as a cancerous brain tumor called a medulloblastoma, his family turned to St. Jude for help.
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Meet Riku
While treatment for medulloblastoma is a difficult journey for 4-year-old Riku, his parents, Noriko and Jun, are there to give him strength and support along the way.
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Meet Mayela
Mayela is an extrovert who loves to play and have fun. She recently finished treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.
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Meet Yamila
Yamila experienced cancer three times and is now celebrating four years of remission. Thanks to St. Jude and supporters like you, her journey as a musician, avid animal lover and cancer survivor continues.
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Meet Alana
Alana didn't let a cancer diagnosis get in the way of her dreams for the future. Neither did St. Jude.
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Meet Luis
Like many boys his age, Luis wanted to be a soccer player when he grew up. But then he was diagnosed with cancer. Now he wants to help kids like him.
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How St. Jude patients spent their time during quarantine
While difficult at times, quarantining during COVID-19 has allowed St. Jude patients and their families, while respecting social distance, to let their creativity flourish in ways that has brought them closer together. See how some of our patients spent their time during quarantine.
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Our Patient Stories
Be inspired by stories about our patients on their journeys from diagnosis to treatment of childhood cancer and other pediatric diseases treated at St. Jude.
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Meet Carson
When Carson's cancer came back, his family turned to St. Jude once again for treatment for an aggressive form of blood cancer.
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Meet Ashtyn
When Ashtyn’s family learned she had a type of cancerous brain tumor called a medulloblastoma, they turned to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.