Braxton’s mom, Nadine, says he’s a superstar. He’s always been a happy baby — even when at 6 weeks of age, his head measurement was that of a 3-and-a-half month old, owing to a very large tumor.
Braxton has always been a happy baby.
When a biopsy showed Braxton had an extremely rare brain cancer called choroid plexus carcinoma, “it was like, ‘We need to get you to St. Jude,’" recalled Nadine. So in January 2019, Braxton and Nadine made the long trip from the high desert of California to the welcoming arms of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Braxton with his mom, Nadine
At St. Jude, Nadine and Braxton found a support system far from home. She said, “Your doctors are always here for you if you need them. The nurses are always here. And other families, they're going through almost exactly what you're going through. They understand it.”
You cannot express how amazing St. Jude is. You can realize it once you get here, but you can't explain it in words.
Braxton is one of a number of St. Jude patients who have Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a genetic condition that predisposes him to develop cancers. “Hearing that news made us feel lost and scared, but St. Jude has given us hope for the future,” said Nadine.
St. Jude has helped push the childhood cancer survival rate from 20% when we opened to more than 80% today. We won’t stop until no child dies from cancer.
After his lengthy treatment at St. Jude, Braxton has returned home cancer-free. He enjoyed his first snowfall this past winter, and his parents are looking forward to many more firsts as he continues to grow.
Braxton after treatment, pictured here at 20 months old.
Meet more patients
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Meet Ay'Den
Ay'Den is a kind boy with an easy smile. When he collapsed, his family was afraid he had COVID-19. Ay'Den would be diagnosed with leukemia and referred to St. Jude.
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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 Max
Max traveled from China, with an Illinois couple who adopted him, to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital where he and the family received lifesaving treatment and comforting support in equal measure.
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Meet Nova
Though Nova's eye cancer is aggressive and she is being treated for a second time, her parents know the doctors at St. Jude will stop at nothing to help their baby girl live.
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Meet Aspen
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 Keegan
Before age 2, Keegan was diagnosed with leukemia and her family was referred to St. Jude where doctors immediately got to work trying to save her life.
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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 Thiago
Thiago loves to dance to the rhythm of his dad's djembe. In 2019, he was born with bubble boy disease and was referred to St. Jude where he underwent a new gene therapy to save his life.
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Meet Aaron-James
At age 2, after being diagnosed with sickle cell disease, Aaron-James came to St. Jude where he loves talking to the nurses and doctors.
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Meet Imani
Imani was diagnosed with cancer at 5 weeks old. Her family feared the worst. But at St. Jude, there was hope for her future.
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Meet Leah
Leah is a big sister who loves dresses, shopping, singing and helping in the kitchen. In March 2019, she was referred to St. Jude for acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment, which included a transplant with her mother as her donor.
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Meet Elliott
Elliott is social and loves the outdoors. He also loves St. Jude, where he's being treated for leukemia.
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Meet Dahiralis
Dahiralis is a very active little girl who loves to play, jump and run everywhere. At 3 years of age, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancerous tumor, and was referred to St. Jude where doctors provided her much-needed treatment and care.
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Meet Melanie
When Melanie was diagnosed with brain cancer and referred to St. Jude, she wasn’t nervous. She was actually looking forward to treatment — chemotherapy, proton therapy and visits from St. Jude therapy dog Huckleberry — because to Melanie, St. Jude meant getting well again.
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Meet Harmony
Harmony is artistic, detailed-oriented and loves to debate. When she noticed something was wrong on her walks to class, no one expected the cause to be a stage four Wilms tumor.