Because of you the world is bright.
St. Jude is proud to honor its survivors, from the newly diagnosed to those who have been with us since the hospital opened in 1962. One way we do that is with an annual Survivor Box.
This year’s box will be mailed in the spring. It will arrive near National Cancer Survivors Day, which takes place in June. That day celebrates survivors. It also highlights their medical challenges and the importance of research and education.
News and Updates
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A New Home Away from Home
On the west side of the St. Jude campus, a beautiful new building offers lodging for patients and families. The Domino’s Village, a 6-story, 307,000-square-foot building, opened in October 2023 with 140 short- and long-term stay rooms.
At The Domino’s Village, patients and families can enjoy meals in the dining room, work out in the fitness room, romp on the playground, or find a quiet place for solace and reflection. St. Jude makes housing assignments based on length of stay, patient considerations, availability, and family needs.
The new facility includes a walking bridge to campus, underground parking, a clinic, a prescription kiosk, and a take-home supplies kiosk. The Domino’s Village is more than a home away from home. It is a place of celebrations, bonding, and hope.
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It Takes Two: MyChart and Our St. Jude
St. Jude encourages patients to use both the MyChart and Our St. Jude apps for the best experience.
Our St. Jude is an app designed to help patients and families navigate day-to-day life at St. Jude.
MyChart is the patient portal for Epic, the electronic health record.
When you use both apps together, you have a world of resources at your fingertips. Sign up for both today!
Learn more about St. Jude MyChart: stjude.org/mychart
Find out about Our St. Jude: stjude.org/about-patient-app
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An Uncommon Space
The hospital’s Family Commons celebrated its first birthday in February 2024.
In this 45,000-square-foot, treatment-free space, St. Jude families can relax, snack, create, learn, and connect. It is located on the 2nd floor of the Patient Care Center.
Here are a few exciting milestones from the first year of Family Commons:
- Casual Care childcare providers supported more than 610 kids.
- The Resting Nooks were used more than 3,800 times to provide a quiet and restful place for families.
- Chair massages were offered in the Resting Nook Lounge two times a week.
- Three staff members programmed the art and makerspaces, where patients and families created art, sewed quilts, printed 3D objects, and made their own board games.
- Psychosocial Services held frequent Caregiver Connections groups in the Event Center to help families connect.
- Patients and families made use of the School Program, music studio, and sacred space.
- The salon provided over 2,925 services for more than 2,834 people.
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Building a New Tomorrow Today
If you’ve been to St. Jude in the past year, you have probably seen the cranes towering over our campus. St. Jude is constructing two new 15-story buildings, one to house the hospital’s outpatient clinics and the other to contain clinical offices.
The new buildings are being erected between Chili’s Care Center and North Third Street. While construction continues, we ask all patients to use shuttle buses instead of walking on campus and to wear a mask to safeguard against harmful particles in demolition dust. We also encourage you to make use of our valet service if you drive to campus.
This project will benefit patients and families for years to come, making St. Jude an even better place for our patients, families, and staff.
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Together by St. Jude™ expands
Now available in 12 languages, the Together by St. Jude™ online resource provides free information for families facing childhood and adolescent illnesses. Last year, Together launched in four new languages: Polish, Portuguese, Ukrainian, and Urdu.
The additional languages make it easier for 300 million more people to get help as they take on life-threatening diseases.
Visit together.stjude.org to find easy-to-read, reliable information on diseases, medicines, procedures, coping, emotional well-being, and more.
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Caregivers SHARE Podcast Gives Solace and Hope
When a child is seriously ill, families need emotional support. Caregivers SHARE, a St. Jude Podcast, features advice, reflection, encouragement, and real-life stories from other St. Jude families and hospital staff. SHARE stands for Support, Honor, Advise, Reflect, and Encourage.
Caregivers SHARE offers a way for caregivers to connect with others and to know that they are not alone.
The podcast is produced by St. Jude Patient Family-Centered Care and Psychosocial Services. Follow Caregivers SHARE wherever you get your podcasts.
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Hope Garden Offers Space for Reflection
This year’s Survivor Box gift is an ornament replica of the St. Jude Hope Garden. The Hope Garden is an outdoor labyrinth lined with stones decorated with patient art. Here, patients and families can walk and reflect, spending quiet time outside.
The Hope Garden was originally inspired by a St. Jude patient who envisioned an outdoor space where families could gather for spiritual healing. Due to construction, the garden has been moved to the green space just outside the St. Jude Gift Shop in the ALSAC National Headquarters building.
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Explore Patient and Family Quick Start Guide
If you are new to St. Jude or just want to see what’s happening on campus, check out the newly updated Patient and Family Quick Start Guide. The guide includes maps, insider details on navigating campus, and other tips to help get you where you need to go.
Features of the Patient and Family Quick Start Guide include:
- Information on inpatient and outpatient care
- Learning your way around campus
- Details on people who can help
- Services, support, and amenities
- Policies and financial information
- Frequently called phone numbers
- Information on language assistance services
Available in English and Spanish, this handy guide is a great resource for anyone spending time at St. Jude.
Research Highlights
- Scientists learn how inherited factors contribute to having Wilms tumor in both kidneys.
- Researchers learn that lifestyle changes can help survivors avoid diabetes and lower their risk of other serious diseases.
- Twelve St. Jude scientists are named to the 2023 list of the most highly cited researchers. This reflects how other researchers around the world use St. Jude research to make new discoveries.
- Scientists use genetic data to show why a small number of survivors are more likely to develop second cancers. By knowing which survivors are at greater risk, health care providers can suggest increased cancer screening. Their goal is to detect second cancers earlier and allow better outcomes.
- Scientists at St. Jude work with medical staff in Latin America to provide an early-warning system for hospitals in the region. This system helps clinical staff recognize problems early and save the lives of more children.
- St. Jude scientists show how the environment affects how brain tumor survivors treated with radiation can think, learn, and remember. Extra resources for at-risk children may help their cognitive outcomes.
- Research shows that patients with craniopharyngioma, a type of brain tumor, treated with proton therapy may have better cognitive (thinking, learning, and remembering) outcomes than with standard radiation therapy, with similar survival rates.
- In the lab, scientists found a way to make CAR T cells into a safer and more effective therapy for solid tumors. CAR T cells are a patient’s own immune cells modified to target and kill cancer cells.
- Hyperdiploidy is a genetic condition where cells contain more chromosomes than usual. Scientists at St. Jude may be able to better predict outcomes and treat children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) by more clearly defining hyperdiploidy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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If you are an active or former patient of St. Jude and you requested a Survivor Box, you should have received one. Please complete the Survivor Box replacement form. Replacements pins will be mailed out in late summer.
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To make sure that you get next year’s Survivor Box, please update your or your child’s contact information in MyChart. Access your MyChart account at stjude.org/mychart. If you need help setting up an account, please call (901) 595-4636.
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If an item was missing or broken in your Survivor Box, please email survivorbox@stjude.org. If you need a replacement enamel survivor pin, please fill out the Replacement form. Replacement pins will be mailed out in late summer.
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If you need a replacement enamel survivor pin, please fill out the replacement form. Replacement pins will be mailed out in late summer.
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After reviewing the Survivors Day event, we found that only 3% of our survivors and their families were able to take part each year. In an effort to honor more of our survivor families, we developed the Survivor Box.
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While we do not have additional copies to distribute to large groups, we can offer a downloadable pdf of the booklet for personal printing.
