As a fitness instructor, Shawn Becklund has always been passionate about keeping herself and others healthy through proper diet and exercise. So, in 2015, after a routine mammogram eventually led to a breast cancer diagnosis, the mother of two admits to being more than a little surprised, sharing, “I was 45-years-old and in the best…
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For parents, holding their baby for the very first time is one of life’s most amazing gifts. But when newborns make an unexpected early appearance those precious first moments can often be brief and tense, leaving parents feeling lost, anxious, and overwhelmed as their child is whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to…
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In June of 2016, Justine Chambers’ morning started out like any other, until a call from her 9-year-old daughter’s school changed everything. “They told me Jennifer was having a seizure, but more like a staring trance that she wouldn’t come out of. I rushed to school not knowing what I would find when I got…
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When her granddaughter was undergoing cancer treatment at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital last year, Renee Payne was part of around-the-clock team of family and friends who made sure Aubrey never spent a moment alone during the week she was there. “It was devastating to see Aubrey in that hospital bed. One minute she was a…
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“Your daughter has cancer.” When Lyndsi Hutson took her then 6-year-old daughter Aubrey to the doctor in April of 2020 because she was experiencing pain in her knee, she wasn’t too concerned. As a softball player Aubrey had her share of bumps and bruises, so when her doctor told her it was most likely growing…
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Mothers, sisters, friends, coworkers, family members – one in eight U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in women. And with this sobering statistic comes the reality that many of us have a personal connection to someone who has fought…
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Her daughter was a little over a year old when Alisha Harper was thrilled to learn she was expecting another baby. “We’d always wanted our kids to be close in age so while everyone else was a little shocked, our life was going exactly as we planned,” explains Alisha. Until it didn’t. When the hemorrhaging…
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As a linebacker on the Berkeley Prep football team, Jared Watson knew all about teamwork and what it took to secure a victory. But in late summer of 2019, when his parents spoke the three scariest words he’d ever heard – “You have cancer”, he needed a moment to process exactly what that meant. Then…
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When Keyanna Mincey stepped into the Steinbrenner Emergency/Trauma Center at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital for her first day of work as a Nurse Tech she felt immediately at home. As a former EMT, Keyanna was used to hectic days filled with all different kinds of trauma, so the buzz of the ER was familiar to…
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According to the American Cancer Society, about 10,500 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2021 – and childhood cancer rates have been rising slightly for the past few decades. The good news is because of advancements in treatment, 84% of children with cancer now survive 5…
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