Tucker Witte’s Story: National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time where organizations across the country are shining a spotlight on the realities of childhood cancer.

It’s a sobering statistic. Each year in the U.S., more than 15,000 children are diagnosed with some type of cancer – that’s one in every 285 kids – and forced to deal with one of the most difficult and terrifying times of their lives.

In 2023, 16-year-old Tucker Witte became one of them, but he was fortunate to have a dedicated partner to fight fiercely by his side: his medical team at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.

Battle of a Lifetime

The unusually swollen area around Tucker’s right eye first presented during spring football practice, but it was easy to brush off as nothing out of the ordinary for the Jesuit High School defensive lineman. Instead of fading away, though, it grew more severe. But Tucker, being the dedicated student athlete that he is, played on. By the spring game, the swelling and bruising had expanded so much that his eye was completely swollen shut.

A fan of the eye black that many players use to reduce the glare of the sun – and that Tucker likes to refer to as “war paint” – he assumed it was just a stubborn patch that needed a little extra elbow grease to come off. But it wasn’t just the eye black, and it still didn’t subside.

A battery of X-rays, tests, and scans, followed by a surgical biopsy at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, revealed the true cause of the inflammation: a 5-and-a-half-inch tumor situated between his brain and eye.

The diagnosis: Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), a rare form of cancer. According to experts, one out of every 200,000 children develop LCH each year. The majority of cases are found in children 1 to 3 years old. For someone older than 15, it’s more than one in 1 million.

“That took a minute to digest,” said Tucker. “I mean cancer is something that happens to other people. But hearing I had cancer was almost secondary to hearing I wouldn’t be able to play football.”

As tough as Tucker was on the field, he knew he’d now need to be even tougher off it.

“Cancer treatment is no joke. I was in the best shape of my life. I was young. I was otherwise healthy. But the treatment was more brutal than any physical or mental challenges I’d ever faced as an athlete.”

While his Jesuit High “brothers” and his friends and family surrounded him with support, Tucker had a new team to help him achieve victory over his toughest opponent yet: his medical team at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.

“Everyone at St. Joe’s had my back, just like my football teammates,” Tucker said. “On the field, I couldn’t do it alone, and off the field, I couldn’t do it alone. I took comfort in knowing there were so many people looking out for me, who knew me personally and took a real interest in me as a person and not just someone who was sick and needed care.”

Since Tucker’s cancer was so rare, the team at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital consulted with a team of experts around the country so they could offer him the very best care possible without having to leave home. 

“The doctors at St. Joe’s were amazing strategic partners for us, communicating with an incredible team of specialists to offer the most personalized level of care right here at home,” Tucker’s mom, India, said. “Having that resource available here in our community made such a difference for Tucker and our entire family.”

The Road to Normalcy

Tucker went through 12 cycles of advanced chemotherapy treatments over the course of nearly a year that left him thinner, weaker and more nauseous than he’d ever been before. But through it all, because of the expertise and meticulous coordination of his doctors, he still managed to play in 9 out of 13 games that season. And members of Tucker’s care team were right there all along the way, even attending his games, cheering him on from the stands.

“They were able to offer a more targeted and less toxic treatment that allowed Tucker normalcy,” said India. “His team understood his holistic goals, not just medical. The care they provided throughout his treatment all felt very personalized. They were ‘Team Tucker’ in every way, and not just within the four walls of the hospital. That meant so much to him, and to us, as parents.”

Not only was Tucker able to participate in most of the games that season, but he was able to play strong, barely missing a beat.  

“Tucker’s ability to play throughout his treatment – and to play at such a high level – was a true testament to the team at St. Joe’s, and the personalized medicine they were able to provide,” said Tucker’s dad, David. “They gave him every variation of nausea medicine available to keep him up and running, and were truly equal partners in his journey to normalcy.”

This May, almost a year after his first chemotherapy injection, Tucker rang the gold bell at St. Joseph’s, signifying victory over his harrowing opponent.

Tucker admits to tearing up as the chime resonated throughout the room, and he looked around at all the people who made his win possible.

“I’m a tough competitor,” Tucker said. “So is cancer. But when you have the right team by your side, anything is possible.”

Now a senior, Tucker is healthy, happy, and a captain of his football team, and he and his parents couldn’t be more thankful.

“The team at St. Joe’s knew how important football was to me – especially to my mental health – and they worked to find a safe and effective way for me to continue while still getting the treatment I needed,” he said, “That was huge. It helped me feel like there was a little bit of normalcy in my life, even when things were anything but normal.”

Thanks to the compassionate, expert care he received at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Tucker and his family are looking forward to the kind of bright future every child deserves.

“We count our blessings every day to be where we are today,” said India. “We are forever grateful for St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and the care and support they provided our family throughout this journey.”

Kids like Tucker are the reason National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month exists, and why health care institutions like St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital join together every September to help raise awareness and make a difference for children diagnosed with the disease.

To learn more about how you can support, please visit Make A Gift – St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation (sjhfoundation.org).