In May 2015, Trinity just couldn’t shake these unusual bouts of nausea, vomiting and sleepiness. When her pediatrician couldn’t pinpoint a cause, her parents sought a second opinion — and learned Trinity had a mass in the center of her brain, a type of cancer called pineoblastoma. Trinity was referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she received chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and surgery to remove it, followed by proton radiation therapy and additional chemotherapy.
“I was scared,” admits Trinity’s mom, Sherry, “especially with them saying it was in the center of her brain. My first thought was: Are they going to be able to remove it? But the confidence that the doctors had kept us very calm. When the surgery was over, and we told Trinity when she woke up that her ‘sick spot’ was gone, her eyes opened wide, and she gave everybody the high five in her room.”
Trinity is an independent 5 year old who loves picking out her own clothes and dressing to the nines. Her treatment is ongoing.
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.
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Trinity'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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Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - Meet Tony
Tony wasn’t quite a year old when his family learned he suffered from ALL, a type of blood cancer. At St. Jude, he began chemotherapy immediately.
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Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - Meet Myra
Myra was experiencing severe headaches, and it was discovered to be a rare form of lymphoma called primary CNS ALCL.
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Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - Meet Joanna
In 2017, 9-year-old Joanna was found to have medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer, and began treatment at St. Jude.
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Meet Zac
By the age of 7, Zac had already completed treatment for blood cancer. Four years later, when he was diagnosed with bone cancer, his family turned to St. Jude.
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Meet Jason
Former patient Jason now works at St. Jude and goes the extra mile with the St. Jude Ride.
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Meet Felicity
With a diagnosis of 5 tumors in her brain and spine, Felicity is facing a struggle, but you wouldn't know it but you wouldn't know it by the constant smile on her face.
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Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - Meet Karique
As he undergoes treatment for retinoblastoma, Karique and his family have been on a difficult journey that's taken them from Antigua to St. Jude.
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Meet Dakota
It's hard to keep patient Dakota away from the kitchen, and thanks to the Nutriolicious cooking classes at St. Jude, he doesn't have to be away for long.
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Meet Amir
Though Amir has only known sickle cell disease and St. Jude since he was born, he's at a hospital that has been pioneering the treatment of the disease for more than 50 years.
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Meet Max
When Max's parents became Partners In Hope, they never would have guessed that they would be supporting their own son, who's undergoing treatment for anaplastic ependymoma.
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Meet Anna
Patient Anna wasn't able to celebrate her 16th birthday at home. Instead, a group of friends from her hometown made the journey to St. Jude, making her birthday a sweet success.
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Meet the dads of St. Jude
Marcus, Ricardo and Gustavo never thought that they would arrive in Memphis, Tenn. (where St. Jude is located) to care for their sick children. But they've found a second home at the hospital that has worked to save their children's' lives.
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Meet Tammy
When Tammy's parents discovered he had anaplastic ependymoma, a type of brain tumor, they turned to St. Jude for their son's treatment.
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Meet Mya
This year, patient Mya, who's receiving treatment for sickle cell disease, was selected to have a FedEx plane named after her at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
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Reid's big day on the green
Reid loves golf, so he didn't let a diagnosis of soft tissue cancer stop him from living his dream and getting to caddy for his favorite golfer at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
