Jazzy is the youngest of three and the only girl. She’s the apple of her family’s eye. Before she was diagnosed with cancer, Jazzy was a blur of motion, always running and jumping and playing.
“She loves the trampoline and playing dodgeball with her cousins,” said her mom, Mykel. “And she loves going to the beach with her dogs.”
St. Jude patient Jazzy with her mom, Mykel
In late 2018, Jazzy started to throw up and began to lose her balance. Her parents took her to the pediatrician, who sent Jazzy for an MRI.
“When the doctor told us there was a mass on her brain, that Jazzy had cancer, we felt like the rug was pulled out from under us,” Mykel said. “It was devastating.”
Families 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.
At St. Jude, Jazzy’s treatment included 30 rounds of proton therapy and four rounds of chemotherapy.
“At St. Jude, we hit the ground running. We love Jazzy’s nurses and the staff here. Her doctor is brilliant,” Mykel said.
Jazzy painting at a St. Jude art party.
Jazzy loves school and her favorite subject is math. She enjoys making crafts and slime, and she likes to dance and read. Jazzy is now finished with treatment and returns to St. Jude for regular checkups.
“They made everything worry-free, so we could just focus on Jazzy.”
Meet more patients
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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 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.
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Meet patient Natalie
Natalie seemed like a healthy toddler. But one day, she stopped using her left arm. She had Stage IV neuroblastoma and was referred to St. Jude for treatment.
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Meet our patient Emma
Tests revealed that Emma had a mass on her brain. A biopsy led to a referral to St. Jude where she was diagnosed with ATRT, a rare form of brain cancer.
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Meet Amris
In July of 2012, doctors found a kiwi-sized tumor on patient Amris’ brain. She was diagnosed with ATRT. With a referral, Amris arrived at St. Jude.
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Meet Jamelia
At 4 years old, Jamelia felt bad and saw blood in her urine. Diagnosed with renal cell cancer, she was referred to St. Jude for treatment including proton therapy.
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Meet patient Jacob
Jacob had frequent headaches and wasn’t himself. Diagnosed with leukemia, he was referred to St. Jude for treatment including chemotherapy to try and save his life.
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Meet Levi
Levi was found to have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and was quickly referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he began chemotherapy.
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Meet Alfredo
It started when Alfredo had unexplained bruises and a constant fever. A local doctor who called for bloodwork and results confirmed that he had leukemia.
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Meet Luna
When St. Jude patient Luna started to feel sick, her parents became concerned. Doctors in Guatemala confirmed what her parents had feared: Luna had leukemia.
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Meet Griffin
As an Air Force family stationed abroad, Griffin’s family was living in Germany when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Veteran’s Day 2019.
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Meet Krew
What started out as a seemingly innocent bump on the head was later heartbreakingly revealed as cancer. Krew was diagnosed with leukemia at just 7 months old.
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Meet Jean Pierre
At 18, Jean Pierre is headed to university. At three years old, he was treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for craniopharyngioma, a slow-growing brain tumor.
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Meet Ava
Five-year-old Ava had a cancerous brain tumor called medulloblastoma. Referred to St. Jude, she underwent a second surgery, proton therapy and chemotherapy.