Camila loves to read and draw. In March 2014, doctors in Camila’s home country of Puerto Rico determined she suffered from osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Her family traveled to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for her treatment and care, which included chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor as well as part of the femur in her left leg.
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90%, and we won’t stop until no child dies from cancer.
We’re so grateful for everything at St. Jude.
During Camila’s stay at St. Jude, she was beyond thrilled when she got the opportunity to meet St. Jude supporter, and fellow Puerto Rican, Luis Fonsi.
“For us it was a wonderful experience,” said Camila’s mom, Roxane. “Camila was really excited and it was even more special because he's Puerto Rican just like us. Knowing that he supports St. Jude, which is our second home, is something that I will forever cherish.”
Today, Camila is finished with treatment and she returns to St. Jude for regular checkup appointments. This fall, Camila is in the eighth grade. “It hasn’t always been easy,” said Camila’s mom. “But we’re so grateful for everything St. Jude has done.”
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Camila'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 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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Meet Elliott
Elliott is social and loves the outdoors. He also loves St. Jude, where he's being treated for leukemia.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Meet Fletcher
Fletcher is a 12-year-old boy and a huge Cleveland Browns fan. So it was a dream come true when he announced the team's pick in the NFL draft on April 23.