Meet Lea

She was diagnosed with blood cancer in January 2013. In 2015, Lea and her family arrived at St. Jude for treatment.

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.

Lea was first diagnosed with blood cancer in January 2013. She underwent treatment in her home country of Canada, including a bone marrow transplant with her younger brother, Theo, as her donor. But in October 2014, Lea’s parents, Stephanie and Jean-Francois, learned she had relapsed. Along with Lea’s doctors in Canada, Stephanie and Jean-Francois determined that the best place for her to undergo a second transplant was at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

St. Jude patient Lea
with parents

“We knew St. Jude was doing a different type of transplant with natural killer cells,” Stephanie said. “Our doctors said St. Jude would be the best place.”

Jean-Francois, St. Jude patient Lea's dad

In January 2015, Lea’s family arrived at St. Jude. “From the moment we arrived, we know we made the best decision for Lea,” said Jean-Francois. Lea’s treatment included chemotherapy and a natural killer (NK) cell transplant, with Stephanie serving as her donor. Post-treatment, Lea’s family returned to Canada, with regular visits to St. Jude for checkups.

In March 2018, Lea returned to St. Jude for a checkup, during which tests revealed she had relapsed once again. Lea underwent chemotherapy to push the cancer back into remission, after which she had a third bone marrow transplant, this time with Jean-Francois as the donor.

“It’s a blessing to be here,” Jean-Francois said. “This is the place where they’ve given my daughter another chance, where they have given my daughter more time. It’s a very special place for us.”

Jean-Francois, St. Jude patient Lea's dad

“St. Jude gave her a second chance and now a third chance. St. Jude is a part of us, of our hearts, for our entire lives.”