Childhood Cancer

In late 2001, the Roberts family lived in England and planned a big weekend to celebrate their son Chad’s third birthday. They hoped to visit both London and Paris. But before they could get away, Chad developed a fever that wouldn’t break. So rather than enjoying a family vacation, they spent the day in the hospital where doctors informed them Chad had leukemia.

“I remember looking over when they drew his blood, and it looked pink because of all the white blood cells,” Chad’s father, Mike, recalled. “The next morning, we were told he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.”

Further testing revealed that Chad was actually suffering from a different kind of leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), which is very rare in children. The first task was to get his white blood cell count down so that he could travel home to the United States for treatment. This was only weeks after the September 11 bombing, so travel itself was no easy task. The family had to stay in England for another 45 days, but his counts finally allowed them to fly home.

When they arrived in Atlanta, preparations began for a critical bone marrow transplant. Every member of the family was tested, but surprisingly, none were a match. Fortunately, a donor was found who was a 100% match, and Chad had his transplant.

“Chad was the first bone marrow transplant recipient at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to get marrow from a non-related donor,” shared his mother, Bridget. “There was concern about his body accepting the marrow, but he would have died without it.”

Chad Today

Chad went home just before Christmas. A few days later, he was declared cancer-free and has been ever since. He is now 23 years old and enjoying life, working as a plumber in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Although cancer is no longer a concern, he does have some health setbacks that his family suspects might be long-term side effects from his treatment.

The Roberts family met CURE shortly after arriving at the hospital. Although their cancer story ended nearly 20 years ago, their involvement with CURE did not. They have been consistent donors since 2002 and joined our monthly donor program nearly ten years ago.

“When we first got the diagnosis, Chad was given less than a 40% chance to survive,” Mike said. “After his treatment ended, we were determined to pay it forward for other families fighting cancer. We knew we couldn’t write one big check, so monthly giving seemed like a great option. Because of CURE’s impact on us and their investment in research, we knew we wanted to partner with CURE.”

We call our monthly donor Dream Makers because every child deserves the chance to live out their dreams. Dream Makers provide a consistent and reliable source of funding. Over time, a simple monthly investment can lead to a big impact on children with cancer. If you would like to learn more about becoming a Dream Maker, visit curechildhoodcancer.org/dreammaker, or contact David Stokes at [email protected].

At the age of ten, Anderson had already chosen his career path. After a brief stint in the minor leagues, he planned on playing major league baseball – preferably for the Braves. He was working hard toward his goal, but after a batting session in 2013, Anderson complained of chest pain. As the pain persisted, his parents took him to the emergency room, where they thought it was likely a pulled muscle.

A few days later, he began to feel sick to his stomach. So they went to the emergency room, where a blood test revealed that Anderson had leukemia. He immediately started the standard treatment, which was scheduled to last three years.

“Anderson always took longer than average to rebound from the chemo,” said his mother, Sally. “In fact, early in his treatment, his count stayed very low, and he got a severe infection called typhlitis.”

Typhlitis is an infection of the intestine, and in Anderson’s case, it caused him all kinds of trouble. He needed emergency surgery, and his body struggled to fight off sepsis in the area. After they got that situation under control, Anderson wasn’t able to walk because the infection had moved to his upper leg.

“He was such an avid baseball player that it was awful thinking that he might never be able to play again,” Sally recalled. “It took six months for him to be able to walk on his own, and he still has a little hitch in his gait.”

While he was learning to walk again, a music therapist put a guitar in his hands. That moment changed the trajectory of his life. Anderson loved playing that guitar, and he developed a love for music that became a guiding force in his life. But his battle with cancer wasn’t over. His medical team ended his treatment early because of his dangerous sensitivity to chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, Anderson relapsed 15 months later. His doctors decided on a 2-year treatment that was slightly less toxic. He tolerated it well, but ten months after completing it, he relapsed again.

“We were shocked when they said it was back,” Sally said. “Anderson had no symptoms. He was just getting routine labs.”

In 2020, Anderson began treatment for the third time just as the pandemic swept across the world. When he reached remission, his doctors decided to start (CAR) T-cell therapy. This new form of treatment uses the patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer by changing them in the lab so they can find and destroy cancer cells. It worked perfectly for Anderson. He has been in remission since.

“We are very blessed that the T-cell therapy was available for Anderson this time,” Sally shared. “Our children deserve the very best treatments, and the only way we will get there is by funding research.”

That was a year ago. Since that time, Anderson has taken up golf, graduated high school, and focused on his love of music. In fact, he will begin his studies at Belmont University this fall, where he will study to be an audio engineer. No longer focused on baseball, Anderson plans to work in the music business – all because of a guitar handed to him during treatment.

A long weekend usually involves rest and celebration. But last Labor Day was the longest of long weekends for Lily Suddeth and her family. Lily had just started preschool weeks before, and her teachers noticed that she was quiet and didn’t like to be put down – especially after nap time. Her parents thought she simply might be adjusting to her new routine and surroundings. But when she started waking up during the night, they decided to take her to the doctor.

“At first, our pediatrician suggested she might be teething,” recalled Lily’s mother, Allison. “But her coloring was off and a blood draw showed she was severely anemic. So they sent us to the hospital for further testing.”

Because of her doctor’s sense of urgency, Lily’s parents suspected she might have COVID. But as the long weekend progressed and more tests were ordered, it became apparent that they were dealing with something else entirely. On Tuesday, Lily was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and began her treatment.

“The situation was difficult because only one parent was able to be with the child in the hospital,” said Allison. “Since it was the height of the pandemic, we certainly understood the need for such rules. But my husband and I process information very differently, and it would have been helpful if both of us could have been there to support each other and ask questions.”

While they certainly had questions, this was not the first time the Suddeth family had dealt with cancer. Allison’s older brother, Daniel, was diagnosed with the same form of leukemia when he was two years old. She also has a cousin whose son recently finished his leukemia treatment and is a healthy seven-year-old. Both her mother and her cousin became invaluable resources for her in the early phase of treatment.

“I wasn’t born when Daniel was diagnosed, so I didn’t know all that went into his fight with cancer,” Allison said. “The treatment for ALL has changed since then. So it was great to have a cousin who had just been through it. Knowing both of them had survived gave us a great sense of hope and assurance that we could trust in God’s plan for Lily’s life.”

Lily reached remission after the first month of treatment, and her parents decided to enroll her in a clinical trial of a drug called Blinatumomab. This drug is usually given to patients if their cancer comes back after treatment. Studies have shown that receiving it during treatment can increase a patient’s initial survivability and prevent relapse. It proved difficult to administer to a patient so young, however.

“The medicine is typically held in a backpack and given 24 hours a day for 28 days,” Allison shared. “But Lily was too small for the backpack so she had to have a pack with a long cord. She got used to it in no time and actually came to like having mommy or daddy following her around all the time.”

Lily is doing great now. She spends most of her time trying to keep up with her older brother and sister and loves to play outside, ride her scooter, and swing. She should reach the less intensive stage of treatment before the fall so when Labor Day rolls around this year, Lily and her family can relax and enjoy the long weekend together.

Her voice is soulful, powerful, and angelic. When you hear Madison sing, you would never believe a voice like that could come out of a petite 21-year-old. You would also be surprised to know that five years ago, doctors found a tumor the size of a golf ball on her brain.

Her cancer fight started with a headache that came and went for three weeks. At the time, Madison was balancing life as a high school cheerleader and member of the golf team while maintaining a very high grade point average. She and her mother, Jennifer, were walking into a store when Madison stumbled and complained of a horrible headache.

“I asked if her headache was back,” Jennifer said. “She told me it had never completely gone away. I didn’t think much of it until she got sick the next morning.”

As a doctor of physical therapy, Jennifer knows more about the body than the average parent. The symptoms together had her worried, so she took Madison to the emergency room.

“I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want her to panic, but I felt like a brain tumor was a possibility and wanted to have them rule it out,” Jennifer recalled. “As we drove, her right arm started to go numb, and when we got there, her right leg became unusable.”

The emergency room staff rushed her to get a CT scan, and the doctor brought the news almost immediately. Madison had a tumor called anaplastic ependymoma on the left side of her brain. She was immediately flown by helicopter from Braselton to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Because this type of tumor grows rapidly, Madison had surgery to remove it three days later.

An analysis of the tumor found it to be grade 3, meaning it is malignant and carries a 30% chance of recurrence. After healing from surgery, Madison had proton radiation for eight weeks. She will have to have regular MRIs of her brain and spinal cord for the rest of her life, but fortunately, her scans have been clear for five years.

“Madison has both physical and emotional scars,” Jennifer said. “Her treatment left her with PTSD, trauma, anxiety, and hallucinations caused by medication. Because of this, she wasn’t able to sleep alone until she got an emotional support dog named Toby. But our family believes we go through experiences such as this for a purpose, and Madison is finding hers.”

In fact, Madison founded a nonprofit called Purpose. Her goal is to comfort children in treatment by sending them a nightlight, a note of encouragement, and a stuffed dog that looks like her labradoodle. She is also finding purpose in her budding music career.

Madison has written 13 songs, including one entitled Superman, which is about being diagnosed with a brain tumor. While she sometimes finds this song disturbing to play because it brings back the trauma of her experience, she does want to tell her story to raise awareness and funds to help kids going through treatment.

“I won’t say God gave me cancer for a reason,” Madison said. “But I will say God brought me through cancer being mostly whole in a way that many children aren’t. I have a purpose.”

Madison is uniquely talented, and the world is starting to take notice. You can listen to her sing on Instagram. Big things are ahead for this amazing young lady.