Claire has always loved the outdoors and she recently returned home from a trip of a lifetime.
She visited Canada and seven states, including Alaska, and saw grizzly bears and bison, among many other animals native to the western United States.
St. Jude patient Claire with her siblings
The best part of the trip for this 12-year-old is that she got to do it all alongside her parents, Jayne and Caleb, and four siblings — Emmy, Amelia, Jonah and Henry.
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Next up for Claire and her family is Hawaii.
“We hike a lot, and we camp and we mountain bike, and those are her favorite things,’’ said her mother, Jayne. “It was super amazing.”
When she’s not busy traveling and sightseeing, Claire loves to cook, curl up with a good book and ski.
Claire is growing great. She’s a very peaceful and calm person, and can be silly at times, but overall, she’s a very peaceful part of our family.
Jayne, Claire's mom
When Claire was 8 years old, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor after she began to have headaches and would occasionally throw up.
Her symptoms lingered and progressively worsened, and her parents became increasingly worried.
After two trips to the emergency room, a CT scan revealed she had medulloblastoma, a brain tumor of the cerebellum.
The cerebellum controls balance and coordinated movements.
When your child has headaches, you don’t automatically assume they have brain cancer. That was the furthest thing from my mind. It was really a shock when she was diagnosed.
Jayne, Claire's mom
Claire underwent surgery at a local hospital in Utah. Her doctor then referred her to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
At St. Jude, Claire’s treatment included 30 rounds of proton therapy and seven rounds of chemotherapy, which she finished in May 2019.
She returns to St. Jude every six-months for checkups.
St. Jude patient Claire with her family during Halloween at St. Jude
Jayne described St. Jude as the “purest form of hope.”
Everyone at the hospital has this glow and hope and when you go there, everyone is just working toward the same goal. And the fact that it is supported so selflessly by so much of the world, adds to this feeling of goodness and hope in all of humanity and hope in curing cancer someday.
Jayne, Claire's mom
Your donation can help give families:
- Lifesaving care and treatment for their child.
- The comforts of home: meals, lodging and more.
- Toys and games so that patients can feel like kids.
Meet more patients
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Meet Avery
Avery was diagnosed with sickle cell disease soon after birth and she received a bone marrow transplant at St. Jude in early 2023. Her donor was one of her older sisters.
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Meet Misheel
Misheel was diagnosed with brain cancer and was referred to St. Jude, where she has received treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She has refused to let her illness keep her from spreading joy to others.
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Meet Janelle
When Janelle was just over a year old, her family noticed that she began to regress in her development. Medical tests revealed that Janelle had cancer.
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Meet Yazleemar
Yazleemar is an outgoing and expressive teenager. In 2012, Yazleemar was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer. St. Jude offered more than treatment to her and her family.
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Meet Gideon
After Gideon was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, he was referred to St. Jude for immediate treatment.
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Meet Felicity
With a diagnosis of 5 tumors in her brain and spine, Felicity is facing a struggle, but you wouldn't know it by the constant smile on her face.
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Meet Charlie
Diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in his shoulder, Charlie was referred to St. Jude then underwent chemotherapy and surgery to replace a cancerous bone with titanium.
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Meet Ava
At 6 years old, Ava had a lump on her neck and tests showed she had more lumps in her belly. Tests revealed that she had a cancerous tumor and was referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Kamryn
At 2 years old, Kamryn's bloodwork indicated he had a form of blood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Doctors referred him to St. Jude where he would undergo more than 2 years of chemotherapy while growing to love activities like Music Therapy.
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Meet Luxe
As a kindergartener, Luxe’s legs became so covered in bruises that her parents took her to the doctor. Luxe was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia.
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Meet Eliza
Eliza’s pediatrician referred her to an ophthalmologist after testing her eyes. In turn, she was referred to St. Jude as a tumor was visible in her right eye.
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Meet Rinoa
Rinoa had an MRI due to headaches and, later, double vision. Doctors found a cancerous brain tumor called medulloblastoma and was soon referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Adalyn
Adalyn had stomachaches that came and went with episodes of severe pain. At the ER, doctors found a large mass above her kidney, stage-4 high-risk neuroblastoma.
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Meet Braxton
Braxton was discovered to have a brain tumor at just 6 weeks old, with more scary news to follow. But St. Jude has given this family a lot to look forward to.
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Meet Chance
Chance was diagnosed with metastatic medulloblastoma. After surgery, referred to St. Jude, he received chemotherapy and proton therapy treatments to his brain and spine.