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 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.
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Thank you for supporting St. Jude in 2020
The kids and families of St. Jude are grateful for your support.
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Meet Marina
Marina is a joyful 2-year-old who loves to laugh and dance with her siblings. She was referred to St. Jude after a white glimmer in her pupil led to her being diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer.
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Meet Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn first came to St. Jude at just over a year old when she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. Despite all she’s been through, her smile shines bright.
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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 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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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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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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Meet Eleanor
Eleanor is a determined baby who arrived at St. Jude on her first birthday. She was diagnosed with down syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer.