For a parent, the world stops spinning when you learn your child is diagnosed with cancer. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital saves lives and changes lives. News 3 is celebrating some cancer-free success stories of Virginia patients.
26-year-old Caitlin Adkins is from southwest Virginia and now lives in Richmond. She was a patient at St. Jude 17 years ago. At the age of 8, she was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a stage 4 bone cancer, that was the size of a professional football and had started growing up her spine. Adkins said by the time she was admitted to the hospital, she just remembers being extremely sick and on a lot of pain medication. St. Jude immediately began treatment, and over the next year and a half Adkins had 48 weeks of chemo, 30 radiation treatments and four surgeries. This Easter, Adkins will celebrate 17 years cancer free!
Another life saved at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is 11-year-old Leah Duggan.
She was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of leukemia when she was just 18 months old. Her cancer did not respond to standard chemotherapy treatments, so the family turned to St. Jude. It was there that Duggan was able to undergo a stem cell transplant using her mom’s cells. Today, she is a healthy and active 11-year-old girl. Duggan plays soccer and is looking forward to middle school next fall. Her mom Kate, credits St. Jude for saving her daughter’s life.
Piper Phillips was 18 months old when doctors found leukemia in her spinal cord fluid. It was a devastating diagnosis, and when their local doctor couldn’t assure them of a positive outcome, her family left Virginia and turned to St. Jude. St. Jude embraced the entire family providing a place to stay and covered hospital expenses. It allowed Piper's family the time to focus on their sick child, who is now a cancer survivor.
Support St. Jude by reserving your ticket for the St. Jude Dream Home giveaway today! Not only will you be eligible for the luxury townhouse in Norfolk, but you will be in the running for the early bird prize. That’s a $5,000 Visa gift card courtesy of Southern Bank. Call 1-800-851-5323 now to reserve your $100 ticket. You can’t win if you don’t enter!
