Meet Tyler

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.