Honored Kid

Athena V.

Age 10
Athena V. Kid Photo

Location

San Lorenzo, CA, US

Diagnosis

Medulloblastoma

Date of Diagnosis

March 2018

Status

In remission

Treated At

Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland

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My Story

"Athena has a brain tumor.” In March 2018, we heard the words no family should ever hear about their little one, and everything since that moment has been surreal. She was only 3 years old, and the tumor was about the size of a small apple. Considering it’s size (large) and her age (small), they were confident, even before biopsy, that it would be an aggressive cancer - and it was. Over the next 10 months, she had two 14+ hour long brain surgeries (just 6 days apart!), completed multiple rounds of intensive chemotherapy and received a bone marrow transplant. The bone marrow transplant sent her into multi-organ system failure, which almost always results in death. She was hospitalized for over 260 days, with over 50 days in ICU. Thankfully, she pulled through, and is in remission. She’s still a high-risk kid, though, and the chances of recurrence are greatest during the first two years of remission. This means she has a full brain and a full spine MRI every three months. Each scan sparks fear, but so far, each result has brought joy. Thank you for your donation.  You are supporting her, and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you are supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure. This means the world to us - and to kids like her!

The Childhood Cancer Ripple Effect

Help Give Kids a Lifetime

Infants, children, teens and young adults are depending on us to find cures for childhood cancers — and to give survivors long and healthy lives.

Support lifesaving childhood cancer research today.

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We strongly encourage all users to submit a before and after photo, so that donors and fellow participants can easily recognize and relate to one another.

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This photo submission policy applies to StBaldricks.org users. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation reserves the right to review all photos and to remove any photo for any reason at our sole discretion. If you see a photo on StBaldricks.org that you believe does not conform to this policy, email to WebQuestions@StBaldricks.org