Meet Lillian

When Lillian was 6 years old, she started complaining about back pain. Because of her young age, it was assumed she had growing pains.

Then, while on a family vacation, Lillian went on a rollercoaster, and when she got off she was in so much pain that the vacation ended early. Her mother, Leslie, thought, “This is not right. It has to be something more.”

Leslie took Lillian to her doctor, where bloodwork revealed Lillian had leukemia. The doctor immediately referred them to St. Jude. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened.

At St. Jude, Lillian began chemotherapy. Her cancer is now in remission, but she’ll need to continue receiving chemotherapy for two and a half years so that the cancer doesn’t return.

It’s a long road ahead, but Leslie loves how friendly the staff is at St. Jude. It gives her a sense of security that her child is in the right place.

“They’re so thorough here, and they take the time to get to know the patients,” Leslie said. “St. Jude, it's amazing.”