A quinceañera to remember for Aylin amidst cancer treatment at St. Jude

Aylin was nervous the evening before her quinceañera. 

She worried about the typical things: Would she spill food on her vibrant blue green colored dress? Would her nerves make her throw up? Would the dances with her dad, grandfather and uncles go as planned?  One concern stood out. 

 Would her wig stay on? 

She hadn’t wanted to wear a wig at first. Aylin embraced her bare scalp with pride. It was a visible reminder of all she had been through and her ongoing cancer treatment. 

“I make a statement with this” she stated as she pointed to her head. “I like my bald head.”

But she had also wanted to wear a sparkly crown, and the only way it would stay on was with a wig. She decided to wear one.  

Aylin is sweet and full of personality. She’s also very kind and thinks of others, a trait her mom, Nallely, said she demonstrated early in life. 

At just 5 years old, Aylin decided to donate her long brown hair to create wigs for children with cancer. Her hair grew back so quickly that two years later, she made a second donation. 

Years later, Aylin would wear a wig herself. 

Aylin was 12 years old when she experienced random vomiting and pain in her side, usually after she ate. Nallely felt something was wrong. She took Aylin to the pediatrician. Aylin’s symptoms persisted and worsened. In September 2022, she took Aylin to  a local emergency room near their home in Tennessee, where an abdominal ultrasound led to a CT scan that showed a mass on Aylin’s liver.  

“I felt my world shattered to pieces,” Nallely said. “I was sitting down, but I felt the ground beneath my feet just get taken away and I was floating in these emotions, mostly of shock. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Aylin was referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® in Memphis, where a biopsy confirmed a type of liver cancer called fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC). Nallely said knowing the diagnosis scared her, but at St. Jude, she saw patients running around, smiling and happy, and it brought her a sense of peace.  

“You have a feeling that ‘I’m not alone.’ These people are here, and this is my army, and they are going to do everything they can to save my daughter,” she remembered thinking. 

Doctors reassured her they would do everything they could to save her daughter’s life. 

“That stuck with me, and that meant a lot to me,” she said. “It meant a whole lot.”

Driven to celebrate 

Aylin’s quinceañera, a Latino tradition that honors a girl’s transition to adulthood, had come together quickly, thanks to the love and generosity of family, friends and business owners in the community. Just a few months earlier, the dreams of Nallely and her husband, Paul, of marking Aylin’s 15th birthday had been put on an indefinite hold. 

Aylin had completed treatment for her initial diagnosis of liver cancer, which included chemotherapy starting in fall 2022. Following chemotherapy, Aylin went to another facility for a liver transplant in the summer of 2023. She returned to St. Jude for regular checkups for more than a year. But in December of 2024, days after Aylin participated in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon® Weekend, she was facing cancer again. The cancer appeared where the stomach and esophagus meet, a point called the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ). 

Nallely couldn’t think of any celebration. She just wanted her daughter to be OK and not to have to undergo more treatment. There were very difficult conversations with doctors at the start of the year. At one point, doctors discussed possible surgery that called for the resection of Aylin’s stomach, esophagus, pancreas and part of the intestine. 

Nallely’s mom and aunts remembered one message in the family group chat they received during that time. After a medical appointment, Nallely wrote a message saying that she needed her family members at her house for their support. Aunts, uncles, cousins — about a dozen in all — got in their cars and arrived at Nallely’s house. In the warmth of her living room, surrounded by loved ones, Nallely shared what the doctors were considering. They offered hugs, encouragement and prayer. Being together was what mattered most at that moment. 

Before surgery, doctors opted for chemotherapy. The months were grueling, but in June, scans showed the chemotherapy treatment was working to keep the disease from progressing. The news spread quickly. Calls and texts were shared between relatives. Just weeks before her birthday, conversations about celebrating Aylin resumed.

Aylin loves sharks and sea animals and dreams of becoming a marine biologist. Her family chose it as a theme for her celebration. Aylin’s dress had to mirror the sea, and they set out to look for a dress that fit the theme.  

At the first shop, nothing blue was on display. But a newly arrived dress, its fabric a blend of green and blue, was pulled out of a box from the latest shipment. Aylin tried it on. It fit perfectly. It was meant to be. 

The venue felt destined, too: a winery with sweeping vineyard views. When the owner learned about Aylin’s story, he offered the space free of charge. Family members with a food truck business catered the event with Mexican favorites like flautas, birria, rice and beans. Everyone helped. For Aylin, seeing her family come together was the greatest gift. 

A day to celebrate life

On this Saturday in late August, Aylin woke early to a house that soon buzzed with excitement. She had her makeup done, slipped on her wig and stepped into her dress and crown. Tiny shark-shaped pins adorned her gown, a playful nod to her dreams. Before heading to church, the family posed for photos.  

The Mass, held in her honor, was filled with prayer, music by a mariachi band and emotion. Family, friends, fellow St. Jude families and teachers from St. Jude Imagine Academy by Chili’s joined loved ones in the pews. 

“Everyone that was invited to her quinceañera has been there for Aylin and have always been checking up on her, always following up with her, and have helped with her one way or the other, and I’m so grateful for everyone who was there,” Nallely said. 

When the priest invited Aylin to read a prayer, her voice cracked as she read: “Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of life.” Tears welled in her eyes as well as those of some guests who knew the journey that had led to this celebration.

After the service, the party began. Tables were dressed in crisp white linens, accented with teal napkins that echoed the color of Aylin’s gown. Traditions rooted in her family’s Mexican heritage unfolded with grace: Aylin traded her sneakers for heels and received an oversized stuffed bear, both symbols of her passage into womanhood. Then came the dances. Her father, Paul, not usually one to dance, had practiced just for her. He embraced her, then gently swayed to “Vals de Amor” by Joan Sebastian, a song that celebrates the love surrounding a quinceañera. 

And then, unexpectedly, the deejay called for a mother-daughter dance. Nallely walked toward Aylin as guests applauded. They hugged tightly, then moved together to “No Crezca Más”— “Don’t grow anymore.” The song, a popular choice for such celebrations, speaks of joy, transformation and how bittersweet it is to watch a child grow. As they danced and whispered to each other, many guests quietly wiped away tears.

“When I was holding her, she said, ‘I made it, I made it to my 15th,’” Nallely said. “There was a lot of emotions. I’m still emotional, and I started to cry, and I told her let’s enjoy it, let’s not focus on the bad and the treatment. I told her this was your day.”  

Weeks after the celebration, Aylin reflected on her birthday celebration with gratitude. She was moved by those who traveled near and far to be with her, especially fellow patients, who were also her friends. 

“When I saw them show up, it meant so much to me,” she said. “They came out late at night and came to celebrate my birthday with me.”  

The dances with her dad, mom, grandfather and uncles remain a core memory. Her mother’s emotional embrace during their dance and the whispered words between them will always be special to Aylin.   

Aylin’s journey continues. She received 7 weeks of radiotherapy in summer 2025 to control the cancer growth.  She is still in treatment receiving maintenance oral chemotherapy — but those moments of her quinceañera remain with her. That day she and her family celebrated her strength, the love and support from family and friends that carried them through and above all, her life.