When Aniya was 3 years old, her mother, Angela, noticed a worrying change. Far from being her usual active and playful self, Aniya was lethargic and in pain.
“All she ever wanted to do was eat a little bit and go to sleep,” recalled Angela. “And she complained of headaches every day.”
Angela took her daughter to the local emergency room where a CT scan revealed a tumor in Aniya’s brain. The next day, they were transported to St. Jude, where we have the largest research-based pediatric brain tumor program in the country, and the world’s best survival rates for some of the most aggressive childhood cancers.
At St. Jude, doctors found Aniya suffered from a rare and dangerous brain tumor known as pineoblastoma. She underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery to remove the tumor. And like all families at St. Jude, Aniya’s family never received a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
It really kept me at ease, knowing that I didn’t have to worry about having to pay for anything. It meant a lot to me to be able to focus on Aniya getting better.
“It really kept me at ease, knowing that I didn’t have to worry about having to pay for anything,” said Aniya’s mom. “It meant a lot to me to be able to focus on Aniya getting better.”
Now Aniya is cancer-free and back to being herself. “She’s been going to school, and she’s been mastering everything they have taught her,” said mom, Angela, with pride. “It just keeps a smile on my face every day to know that she feels better.”
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Aniya'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.
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