St. Jude Storied Lives Podcast

S2E8 | A full healing circle

When Jessica was growing up in the 1980s, her older sister was a patient at St. Jude. Unfortunately, she passed away. And as the years went by, Jessica avoided thinking and talking about her sister’s illness, not wanting to upset her parents. But then in 2020, Jessica returned to St. Jude, this time with her son Charlie. That day, they learned Charlie had a type of bone cancer. “It was so shocking,” Jessica says. Charlie started treatment right away, and Jessica stayed with him. Visitation was restricted because of the pandemic, so they got to know St. Jude well. After months of chemotherapy and a surgery, Charlie completed treatment. Now Jessica sees St. Jude as a place of hope. “This is like home for us because these people were with us and walked with us in these horrible times.” Charlie says St. Jude did more than cure his cancer. “When I survived it, I feel like for my mom and for my grandparents, it was just like a full healing circle.” Now Charlie is thinking about his future. He’s interested in becoming a research pathologist. And he got a chance to be a scientist for a day. You can watch a video of Charlie on the TODAY Show, visiting a St. Jude research lab here [https://www.stjude.org/get-involved/other-ways/st-jude-thanks-and-giving/marlo-thomas-on-today-show.html#wednesday]. St. Jude Storied Lives is a production of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This podcast series explores the experiences of survivors, letting you get to know the person and not just the diagnosis. St. Jude understands that every patient’s journey through treatment is unique. Listeners who have questions about their situation, diagnosis or treatment options should talk to their physician. These personal stories are not intended to provide medical advice. Credits Host: Joel Alsup Producer: Geoffrey Redick Editor: Grace Korzekwa Evans Music production: Kazimir Boyle Recorded by: Jason Latshaw, Nathan Black, Bobby Mitchell, Orlando Palaez and Dan Yohey

S2E7 | Lighting up the room, even in hardship

If anyone knows what it’s like to be a patient at St. Jude, Javon does. He practically grew up there. He was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 2 years old. He went through years of treatment, relapsed twice and had a bone marrow transplant. He didn’t go to a regular school until he was in sixth grade. But through it all, his charismatic personality prevailed. Javon’s mom understood what her son was going through. She had been a patient at St. Jude when she was a kid. She had leukemia and also relapsed. A difficult situation became almost too much to bear when Javon’s younger sister was also diagnosed with leukemia while he was in treatment. Eventually, through genomic testing, Javon’s family learned they all have a genetic mutation called a PAX5 mutation, which is known to cause a predisposition to B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and be associated with relapses. Here is more information [https://www.stjude.org/research/progress/2023/genetic-predispositions-can-drive-cancer-but-are-not-destiny.html] about PAX5 and other genetic predispositions. You can read more about Javon’s mom and sister here. [https://www.stjude.org/inspire/series/possibilities/javon-jakayla-lisa-all.html] All three are now doing well. And Javon made up for lost time in school. He joined several honor societies and clubs in college, and he performed with the marching band — including an appearance on College GameDay. Javon still enjoys cooking meals he loved during treatment. You can watch him making fried catfish and some of his other favorites here [https://www.stjude.org/inspire/series/storied-lives/cooking-with-javon-fried-catfish-part-one.html]. St. Jude Storied Lives is a production of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This podcast series explores the experiences of survivors, letting you get to know the person and not just the diagnosis. St. Jude understands that every patient’s journey through treatment is unique. Listeners who have questions about their situation, diagnosis or treatment options should talk to their physician. These personal stories are not intended to provide medical advice. Credits Host: Joel Alsup Producer: Geoffrey Redick Editor: Grace Korzekwa Evans Music production: Kazimir Boyle Recorded by: Jason Latshaw, Nathan Black, Bobby Mitchell, Orlando Palaez and Dan Yohey

S2E6 | Finding strength in each other, day by day

Barry has seven kids, and he spent years as a state trooper. But nothing in life prepared him for the months he spent helping his son Luke through cancer treatment. “I just wanted to give him that strength to keep pushing through,” he says. “Let’s get through Monday on Monday. Let’s not worry about seven months from now.” When Luke was 14, he started throwing up for no reason. It happened over and over. His parents took him to the pediatrician, to the ER, to specialists. No one could figure it out. His dad Barry knew something was really wrong and pushed for a CT scan. It showed that Luke had a brain tumor. In less than two weeks, he was at St. Jude. Luke met the criteria for a study on medulloblastoma at St. Jude, and that’s why he was referred for treatment. You can read more about the study here [https://www.stjude.org/care-treatment/clinical-trials/sjmb12-medulloblastoma-pnet.html]. Luke is now cancer free, and his relationship with his dad is closer than ever. And Luke is grateful for that. “One of the good things is it brought me closer to the man who basically lifted me up through all this,” he says. “And I don't think that's ever gonna go away.” You can read more about Luke and see pictures from his days in treatment here [https://www.stjude.org/inspire/series/home-from-st-jude/going-home-from-st-jude-with-lights-flashing-and-sirens-blaring-was-easy-part.html]. And you can watch Luke and Barry trade dad jokes in this video [https://www.stjude.org/inspire/series/storied-lives/st-jude-dad-barry.html]. St. Jude Storied Lives is a production of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This podcast series explores the experiences of survivors, letting you get to know the person and not just the diagnosis. St. Jude understands that every patient’s journey through treatment is unique. Listeners who have questions about their situation, diagnosis or treatment options should talk to their physician. These personal stories are not intended to provide medical advice. Credits Host: Joel Alsup Producer: Geoffrey Redick Editor: Grace Korzekwa Evans Music production: Kazimir Boyle Recorded by: Jason Latshaw, Nathan Black, Bobby Mitchell, Orlando Palaez and Dan Yohey

S2E5 | An unassailable hope

The first time Corbin was treated for cancer at St. Jude, he was a precocious 3-year-old who loved to ride tricycles around the halls. The last time Corbin was treated for cancer at St. Jude, he was a magnetic 18-year-old who loved to play guitar and had big plans to fight for justice in the courtroom, even as he neared the end of his life. Corbin had a genetic predisposition to develop cancer. In all, he was diagnosed with four different types of cancer over the years, and treatment options became increasingly complex. Corbin’s mom Heather says each diagnosis was a shock. But each time they returned to St. Jude, they felt hopeful, knowing his doctors would do all they could. “I miss him terribly, and it creeps up on me and hits me sometimes” Heather says. But she remembers the way he’d make her laugh, the way he sat with young patients at St. Jude while they played video games, the way he refused to fall into bitterness, the way he never gave up on living. “I need to do that too,” Heather says. “I need to move forward because that's what he would want me to do.” Please note this episode contains a few instances of mild swear words. St. Jude Storied Lives explores the experiences of patients and their families, letting you get to know the person and not just the diagnosis. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital understands that every family’s journey through treatment is unique. Listeners who have questions about their situation, diagnosis or treatment options should talk to their physician. These personal stories are not intended to provide medical advice.  Credits Host: Joel Alsup Producer: Geoffrey Redick Editor: Grace Korzekwa Evans Music production: Kazimir Boyle Recorded by: Jason Latshaw, Nathan Black, Bobby Mitchell, Orlando Palaez and Dan Yohey

S2E4 | Caring for others as she was cared for

Angelique was an ambitious kid. She was curious about the world and driven to succeed. When she was a teenager, Angelique was diagnosed with leukemia and treated at St. Jude. Her time there forced her to slow down, but her care team planted the seed for a new ambition: nursing. Eventually Angelique became an oncology nurse. With each patient, she remembered the empathy of the nurses at St. Jude, and let their lessons guide her. “I walked them through everything, taught them what their meds were, to take a lot of the fear out of it,” she says. Angelique has lived and worked all over the country, but she returned to her native Memphis a few years ago. She’s devoted to her family and calls herself an “undercover helicopter mom” to two “miracle babies.” St. Jude Storied Lives is a production of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This podcast series explores the experiences of survivors, letting you get to know the person and not just the diagnosis. St. Jude understands that every patient’s journey through treatment is unique. Listeners who have questions about their situation, diagnosis or treatment options should talk to their physician. These personal stories are not intended to provide medical advice. Credits Host: Joel Alsup Producer: Geoffrey Redick Editor: Grace Korzekwa Evans Music production: Kazimir Boyle Recorded by: Jason Latshaw, Nathan Black, Bobby Mitchell, Orlando Palaez and Dan Yohey