Reagan loves pink and speaks her mind — and her St. Jude treatment is reshaping her parents’ lives

To know Reagan is to imagine a little granny who tells it like it is. She has been there and done that — and she is not afraid to speak her mind. 

Reagan, though, is only 4 years old.

Her mom, Kiara, quiet and thoughtful, is mystified by, and a bit in awe of, her little firecracker. Picture them together walking through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, headed toward Kay Kafe — that’s where Reagan’s favorite ramen noodles are. A nurse walks past. Reagan stops her mid-stride, strikes up a conversation and maybe even offers bold, unsolicited advice.

Kiara would never have done that. She would have assumed the nurse had places to be, important things to do. But she has seen this scenario play out enough times to know that transformation happens when people meet Reagan.

They stop. They laugh. They seem to glow from her attention. They say, “Hey, I’m glad I saw you today, Reagan.” And Kiara can tell they truly mean it. 

“To be a 4-year-old going through what she’s going through — it’s tough,” her dad, Bronte, said. “But in every room she goes into, somehow, she makes people’s days better.”

So, Kiara stands back and appreciates Reagan being Reagan — as Reagan holds court in her world.

So afraid. So cared for.

Reagan was referred to St. Jude in November 2023 after visiting the doctor because of a mass.

“At St. Jude, it was almost like a movie,” Bronte said, “where the doctors come in and say, ‘Well, we’ve run some tests,’” before delivering shocking news: Reagan had cancer. 

“I’ve always expected that if I was ever in that situation, I would break down and cry,” he continued. “But it was almost like a moment of silence. You never expect for your family to be in that room.”

Reagan was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue sarcoma that arises from immature cells that normally develop into skeletal muscle. 

“You’re so afraid,” Kiara said. But those fears eased once treatment began. “We were welcomed with so much love and understanding. You’re seeing how hard-working and diligent these doctors are when it comes to saving these kids, and you’re like, ‘OK, I can relax.’”

Reagan’s family has never received a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. That support has been a relief to her family.

“Not having to worry about the financial aspect gives us that space to completely key in on Reagan and focus on what she needs,” Bronte said. “It’s been very beneficial, helping us maneuver through it emotionally, mentally and spiritually.”

Reagan and her parents met with a genetic counselor who conducted testing. 

The information helped them understand that Reagan did not have a genetic mutation that is known to increase the risk of cancer, so the chances of Kiara and Bronte having another child  with cancer are likely very low. 

St. Jude also discussed the possible impacts of treatment on Reagan’s health in the future. 

And when Kiara felt overwhelmed, Reagan’s caseworker at St. Jude connected her with someone to talk to. “The therapist was able to help me get through,” Kiara said.

Perseverance

Survival rates for embryonic rhabdomyosarcoma have improved over the past several decades due to the use of multimodality therapy, which includes surgery, chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiotherapy. Reagan’s first course of treatment used surgery to remove around 80% of the tumor and followed up with chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells. Her treatment lasted for almost a year.

Reagan felt pain from the surgery, and she sometimes threw up from chemotherapy. Kiara would rub her daughter’s little back. Remarkably though, Kiara said, she had more good days than bad. 

The family celebrated the end of treatment in late 2024, but that celebration was short lived. At her first three-month follow-up appointment in early 2025, tests revealed active cancer cells. She is undergoing a second treatment plan of chemotherapy and proton beam radiotherapy to eradicate her recurrent cancer. 

“It’s such a relief to see that they have a plan in place,” Kiara said. “And it’s also one where my kid can still be as much of a kid as possible in the process.”

But this treatment is more aggressive than the last one, and doctors told them to expect Reagan to have some bad days with possible fatigue, nausea or bad moods. For the most part, blessedly, that hasn’t been the case, her parents marvel. She has persevered with little complaint.

A future

Kiara has a favorite hallway at St. Jude, one lined with portraits of St. Jude cancer survivors. Each adult in those portraits holds a frame with a photo of their younger self — back when they were still in treatment. It’s a powerful image: The grown-up carrying the child they once were. Or maybe it’s the other way around — the resilience of that child carrying through to adulthood.

“When I see those pictures, it gives me so much hope,” Kiara said. “It makes me think, OK, Reagan has a future. Maybe even a future at St. Jude.”

Reagan has become conversant in all things medical, to the point that she will talk about her blood pressure numbers. When she grows up, she wants to be a doctor or a nurse — influenced by her caregivers at St. Jude. The experience has been life-changing, Kiara said. 

Bronte agrees. “I wish people could spend at least a day or two at St. Jude, not for anything medical, but just to walk around to see, to experience, to hear, to smell, literally,” he said. 

To transform — like he did — into someone who cherishes each moment of life. 

The power of pink

Most days when Reagan heads to St. Jude, she is happy because she enjoys spending time with her doctors and nurses who let her play “princess” or do fashion shows. 

“She loves the color pink, and I feel the color pink describes her so well,” Kiara said. “She’s very girly. She loves to ballerina dance.”

She also gets a chance to play with other patients and, if there is time, the little girl gets her nails done at the salon in Family Commons, a treatment-free zone designed for St. Jude patients and families so they can relax, reflect and recharge.

“From the very beginning, she didn’t really see St. Jude as a hospital. She saw St. Jude as a playground,” Kiara said. 

Kiara doesn’t have a prescription for her daughter’s life. She simply prays that Reagan survives and lives a life filled with purpose and determination. “She may not remember most of what she’s going through now, as tough as it is. I would hope that she holds on to that spirit to just keep going because that’s the most important part of surviving — just getting up every day, having the effort and the energy and the want to do better.”

More than anything, Kiara wants her daughter to simply be herself — that bright, fun, pink‑infused spirit who shares her wisdom with everyone she meets. “Just to see her still be Reagan, still be pink, means everything.”