Five-year-old Tyler walked into his pre-K classroom for his first day of school, eager to meet his classmates. Starting school meant he was finally a big kid, and big things were about to happen.
For Tyler’s parents, Jennifer and Thomas, something huge had happened already in their son’s life, and in their lives, too. In 2010, Tyler had fought cancer and won.
Tyler had always been an active, social child, but in March 2010, he felt lethargic and often lost his balance. His parents were concerned. At the emergency room, a CT scan revealed Tyler had a golf ball-sized brain tumor called medulloblastoma.
After surgery to remove the tumor, Tyler’s doctors referred him to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
At St. Jude, doctors determined Tyler’s brain tumor as low risk and tailored treatment to his needs, forgoing radiation therapy altogether and giving him a lower chemotherapy dose than he might have gotten otherwise.
Today, Tyler is done with treatment—and full of energy and adventure. He loves superheroes and excels at sports. He is a fierce competitor. He recently started playing baseball and is a good hitter. He also loves golfing with his dad and has a mean swing.
No wonder he likes school so much—more kids means more opportunities to play.
Help give hope to kids like Tyler who are fighting life-threatening illnesses. Become a Partner In Hope monthly donor today.
Meet more patients
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Meet Carl
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Meet Ay'Den
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Meet Myla
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Meet Keegan
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Meet Eduardo
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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.
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Meet Aaron-James
At age 2, after being diagnosed with sickle cell disease, Aaron-James came to St. Jude where he loves talking to the nurses and doctors.
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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.