In March 2015, Leonay developed a fever that wouldn’t go away. Her doctor in Jamaica, where her family lives, prescribed medicine, but it had little effect. When the fever persisted, Leonay’s mother, Virginia, insisted the doctor look deeper. Tests soon revealed Leonay suffered from neuroblastoma. Soon after, Leonay and her mother arrived at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Leonay is a silly, happy girl who loves to dance, knows all the songs from Frozen and likes to pick out her outfits each morning.
At St. Jude, Leonay’s treatment included chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy and an antibody treatment. Leonay thinks her doctor is a giant teddy bear and she loves her nurses. Leonay recently completed treatment and is back home in Jamaica. She visits St. Jude every three months for checkups.
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.
"St. Jude has been our family. They make everything better."
Leonay's mom, Virginia
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Leonay'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 more patients
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Halloween Traditions for Family Fun
Halloween is a fun time of year for kids, whether they’re carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating or telling stories about ghouls and ghosts. See how St. Jude patients celebrated at home and at the hospital during 2019.
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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 Eleanor
Eleanor is a determined baby who arrived at St. Jude on her first birthday. She was diagnosed with down syndrome and a type of blood cancer.
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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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Meet Riku
While treatment for medulloblastoma is a difficult journey for 4-year-old Riku, his parents, Noriko and Jun, are there to give him strength and support along the way.
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Meet Mayela
Mayela is an extrovert who loves to play and have fun. She recently finished treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.
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Meet Yamila
Yamila experienced cancer three times and is now celebrating four years of remission. Thanks to St. Jude and supporters like you, her journey as a musician, avid animal lover and cancer survivor continues.
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Meet Alana
Alana didn't let a cancer diagnosis get in the way of her dreams for the future. Neither did St. Jude.
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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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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 Carson
When Carson's cancer came back, his family turned to St. Jude once again for treatment for an aggressive form of blood cancer.
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Meet Ashtyn
When Ashtyn’s family learned she had a type of cancerous brain tumor called a medulloblastoma, they turned to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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Meet Maelin-Kate
Maelin-Kate was diagnosed with a rare blood disease at age 5, but her mom says, "Every day, she finds a reason why it's the best day ever."
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Meet Miguel
Miguel is a happy boy who loves to laugh.