St. Jude Survivor Box

Parents and caregivers of seriously ill children often feel afraid and alone. Caregivers SHARE, a St. Jude Podcast, helps bring families together through heartfelt, honest conversations. It also builds feelings of connection and community.

Each season, caregivers join St. Jude experts to share stories, ask questions, and offer advice. Season 1 topics focused on the shock of receiving a new diagnosis, transitioning off therapy and finding joy in the simple moments. Season 2 addresses parenting challenges, healthy relationships, supporting siblings, advocating for teen and young adult patients, and finding happiness during hard times.

Caregivers SHARE is available on all major podcast platforms. It is produced by St. Jude Patient Family-Centered Care and Psychosocial Services. 

Listen to the podcast today

The St. Jude Patient Family-Centered Care (PFCC) program helps families and hospital staff work together to make the patient experience better. The program engages caregivers in many ways to ensure that their perspectives are considered in decisions made across the organization. Families can volunteer to help and be a part of improving care for everyone at St. Jude.

The Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC) is an advisory board made of former patients and caregivers who provide oversight to 11 steering councils that consider best practices in caregiver support programming, delivery of nursing excellence, patient education, and patient experience, and many other areas of the hospital. These councils meet both online and in person.

St. Jude Voice gives caregivers and patients who are 18 years and older an opportunity to share feedback through surveys and online activities. It includes groups for active and bereaved families.

To learn more about how you might get involved:

• Visit stjude.org/PFCC
• Email pfcc@stjude.org
• Call 901-595-3327

A survivorship care plan can help you manage your health after a serious illness. It includes details about your diagnosis, treatments, and procedures, and the care you received. It also has tips for staying healthy, and a recommended schedule for check-ups.

This plan helps you and your doctors watch for any health changes, manage side effects, and make sure you are staying strong. You can share your plan with new doctors, stay organized, and feel prepared.

You can access your survivorship care plan on MyChart.

For more information, visit mychart.stjude.org/mychart.

For 25 years, the St. Jude school program, known as the St. Jude Imagine Academy by Chili’s, has been helping patients continue their education through treatment and beyond. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the school is honoring the educators, colleagues, and volunteers who have had an impact on our patients’ lives by providing extraordinary learning experiences over the years.

The school program offers a variety of services to help meet children’s needs. Here’s to 25 more years of making school not just cool—but unforgettable.

Learn more about the St. Jude Imagine Academy by Chili's

In April 1993, I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a rare childhood cancer. My doctors told my family I had only 3 months to live. We went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where I received chemotherapy and radiation. Luckily, my younger brother was a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant, which I had in July 1993. After 10 years, I was told I was cured, and my fear of relapse faded.

Twenty years later, I enrolled in the St. Jude LIFE study, which helps cancer survivors understand the long-term effects of treatment. I learned that I needed to take charge of my health. I started advocating for myself by sharing my survivorship care plan, that was provided by the St. Jude LIFE team, with my doctors.

I now live in Chicago and see doctors regularly to monitor my health. I have also sought help for post-traumatic stress disorder from my childhood cancer experience. While some of the news I have received has been tough, I am thankful to be alive and remain cancer-free.

I have learned that, as survivors, we must speak up for our health. I trust my instincts, ask questions, and listen to my body. With medical advances, cancer treatments have improved. And, with programs like St. Jude LIFE, we are assured continuous efforts to study long-term effects.

I now live life fully, crossing items off my bucket list, like bungee jumping in New Zealand, skydiving in Montauk, and paragliding in San Diego. I walk alongside other survivors, knowing I am not alone. If I can beat cancer, I can do anything. I am strong and living life on my terms.

Darshana Magan, childhood cancer survivor

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