In September 2016, 4-year-old Lucas and his family were getting ready to travel to the United States from Chile for their family vacation.
With their passports in hand, the family was just weeks away from traveling when Lucas began having pains in his stomach. Initially, doctors in Chile diagnosed Lucas with an infection and sent him home.
But a few days later, the pain returned, and this time doctors suspected a mass. Within days, scans revealed Lucas suffered from neuroblastoma, a type of brain tumor.
Doctors immediately referred Lucas to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for his continuing treatment and care.
“All of the doctors in Chile agreed that St. Jude was the best place for Lucas,” said his dad, Carlos. “The work being done at St. Jude is years ahead of anything being done in Chile.”
St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.
At St. Jude, Lucas’ treatment includes chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor.
Lucas is responding well to treatment and the family is thankful for the care and support they’ve received.
“All of the doctors and nurses at St. Jude have been phenomenal and continue to be with us every step of the way,” said Carlos. “We’ve never seen anything like this."
Meet more patients
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Meet Scarlet
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Meet Calvin
At St. Jude, Calvin underwent chemotherapy, proton therapy and radiation treatments for rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue. He continues to receive treatment at St. Jude, having experienced a recurrence of cancer in 2020.
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Meet Lydia
Lydia has an unusual hobby for a kid her age: reading scholarly articles in medical journals. But not just any articles. She’s interested in those authored by Dr. Gajjar, the man – along with nurses and researchers and others at St. Jude – working to save her life.
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Meet Gracie
Gracie was eight months old when she was diagnosed with blood cancer. She underwent chemotherapy and physical, occupational and speech therapies at St. Jude.
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Meet Patient Mikayla
Over Christmas 2020, something was wrong with then one-year-old Mikayla. Referred to St. Jude, her cancer was identified as acute myeloid leukemia. Mikayla successfully underwent chemotherapy.
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Meet Weiming
Weiming was diagnosed with a rare disease, an immunodeficiency known as bubble boy disease and came to St. Jude at just four months from his home country of China.
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Meet Twila
Twila was brought to her local hospital for an ear infection. When the pain didn’t resolve, doctors ran tests and found brain cancer. She was referred to St. Jude and placed on a treatment plan.
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Meet Avyan
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Meet Jose
After he was born, José stopped eating and lost much weight. A local doctor confirmed he had brain cancer. Surgery was performed to remove a brain mass and he was referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Carl
At 3 years old, Carl had leg pain and his belly began to swell. He had a cancerous tumor above a kidney. He was referred to St. Jude where he received treatment.
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Meet Ay'Den
Ay'Den is a kind boy with an easy smile. When he collapsed, his family was afraid he had COVID-19. Ay'Den would be diagnosed with leukemia and referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Myla
Myla’s mom found that her little girl wasn’t feeling well. Rushed to St. Jude, four-year-old Myla was diagnosed with a blood cancer called acute megakaryoblastic leukemia.
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Meet Brayden
Brayden received chemotherapy as well as proton therapy for medulloblastoma at the first proton therapy center in the world dedicated solely to children.