In late 2015, Gideon started to fuss more than usual. His parents, Katie and Gary, assumed he was teething. When Gideon developed bruises above his eyes and a lump on his head, they became alarmed.
Tests soon revealed Gideon suffered from stage IV neuroblastoma, a type of cancerous tumor.
St. Jude patient Gideon with his mom, Katie
At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Gideon’s treatment included surgery to remove the primary tumor, a bone marrow transplant, radiation therapy and an antibody therapy manufactured right on the St. Jude campus in Memphis, Tenn.
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.
Gideon completed treatment in early 2017 and now visits St. Jude for yearly appointments. He loves all things sports and will start playing t-ball soon.
Gideon is also excited about becoming a big brother when his mom gives birth to a baby girl this fall.
A recent photo of St. Jude patient Gideon with a friend
Meet more patients
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Meet Imani
Imani was diagnosed with cancer at 5 weeks old. Her family feared the worst. But at St. Jude, there was hope for her future.
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Meet Leah
Leah is a big sister who loves dresses, shopping, singing and helping in the kitchen. In March 2019, she was referred to St. Jude for acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment, which included a transplant with her mother as her donor.
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Meet Elliott
Elliott is social and loves the outdoors. He also loves St. Jude, where he's being treated for leukemia.
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Meet Dahiralis
Dahiralis is a very active little girl who loves to play, jump and run everywhere. At 3 years of age, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancerous tumor, and was referred to St. Jude where doctors provided her much-needed treatment and care.
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Meet Melanie
When Melanie was diagnosed with brain cancer and referred to St. Jude, she wasn’t nervous. She was actually looking forward to treatment — chemotherapy, proton therapy and visits from St. Jude therapy dog Huckleberry — because to Melanie, St. Jude meant getting well again.
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Meet Harmony
Harmony is artistic, detailed-oriented and loves to debate. When she noticed something was wrong on her walks to class, no one expected the cause to be a stage four Wilms tumor.
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Thank you for supporting St. Jude in 2020
The kids and families of St. Jude are grateful for your support.
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Meet Marina
Marina is a joyful 2-year-old who loves to laugh and dance with her siblings. She was referred to St. Jude after a white glimmer in her pupil led to her being diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer.
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Meet Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn first came to St. Jude at just over a year old when she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. Despite all she’s been through, her smile shines bright.
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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 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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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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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 Eleanor
Eleanor is a determined baby who arrived at St. Jude on her first birthday. She was diagnosed with down syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer.