Mia has always been an active girl. In May 2008, she was busy with school, swimming and dance classes. Then one day, everything changed. Mia’s grandmother noticed one morning her eye looked swollen. “We thought it was allergies,” recalled Mia’s dad, Malcolm.
By the afternoon, Mia’s eye was swollen so much it looked like it was protruding from its socket. Malcolm took Mia to the eye doctor, who sent them to the hospital, where an MRI revealed a tumor. A biopsy confirmed it was cancer. Soon, Mia and her family were walking through the doors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
At St. Jude, Mia was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive soft tissue cancer. Her treatment included chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Mia, at age 9 during treatment
Mia, today, at age 18
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since we 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.
After finishing treatment in 2009, Mia returned to St. Jude for regular checkups and eventually became a part of the St. Jude ACT Clinic. Mia’s family continues to be thankful for St. Jude. “St. Jude saved my daughter’s life,” Malcolm said. “For that I owe them a great appreciation. As far as I’m concerned, they work miracles.”
Mia recently started college, where she is majoring in marine biology. She’s a videographer for her college’s football team, so she keeps busy with a full schedule of classes and travel.
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Mia'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
-
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.
-
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.
-
Meet Avyan
Avyan carries himself with confidence and strength beyond his years. His manner has given fortitude to his family as they walk through an unimaginable reality.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Meet Eli
At just 6 years old, Eli was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. His family was referred to St. Jude for his treatment and Eli underwent surgery to remove the tumor and a portion of his tibia.
-
Meet Max
Max traveled from China, with the Illinois couple who adopted him, to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital where he and his family received lifesaving treatment and comforting support in equal measure.
-
Meet Nova
Though Nova's eye cancer is aggressive and she is being treated for a second time, her parents know the doctors at St. Jude will stop at nothing to help their baby girl live.
-
Meet Aspen
Aspen was not yet two when diagnosed with neuroblastoma. She was treated in the Philippines but six months later, the cancer was spreading so she was referred to St. Jude.
-
Meet Keegan
Before age 2, Keegan was diagnosed with leukemia and her family was referred to St. Jude where doctors immediately got to work trying to save her life.
-
Meet Eduardo
At 6 months old, Eduardo was referred to St. Jude where he was diagnosed with liver cancer. His treatment included surgery to remove the mass and chemotherapy.
-
Meet Thiago
Thiago loves to dance to the rhythm of his dad's djembe. In 2019, he was born with bubble boy disease and was referred to St. Jude where he underwent a new gene therapy to save his life.