TULSA, Okla. — September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
According to the American Cancer Society, almost 10,000 children in the United States under 15 will receive a cancer diagnosis this year.
One of those children is Brady Glisson.
This year, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and, along with his mother, wants to spread positivity through their battle.
"We've made sure to celebrate every small victory along the way to make sure that we stay focused on the positive," Melissa Glisson said.
Melissa Glisson and her son's lives changed in January of this year when Brady asked his mom to look at his neck.
"It was swollen, quite large," Melissa said. "I brought him to urgent care and was told it was most likely an infection. He's never had a response like that. He's been a very healthy child. So, I knew something wasn't right."
Melissa says it took three months of looking for answers when one finally came.
"He had a biopsy, and it came back positive for Hodgkin's lymphoma," Melissa said.
A cancer diagnosis can come with a lot of emotions.
"The day that we got confirmation of his diagnosis, we had a pretty, pretty good breakdown," Melissa said. "We let ourselves have the night to feel all of our feelings. Be sad, mad, disappointed, everything that we were gonna have to go through this. Then, the next day, we regrouped. And we knew that the only way we were going to get through it is if we stayed positive, and we just kind of charged forward."
That charge forward brought them to St. Jude.
"I can't speak highly enough of this pediatric oncology team and all of St. Jude," Melissa said. "It's been wonderful."
The Children's Hospital at Saint Francis has just one of eight St. Jude affiliate clinics nationwide.
Brady participates in studies through St. Jude, which helps with the daunting task of fighting cancer and paying for treatment.
"We don't have to choose between feeding our family or getting chemotherapy, which makes the future much brighter," Melissa said. "You know, he has a great future ahead of him."
That future is inspired by what he is going through right now.
Because of the doctors he works with each day, Brady said he wants to become a pediatric oncologist.
"We have a lot of gratitude back toward our patients and their families," Dr. Sara Mednansky, Pediatric Oncologist at Saint Francis Health System, said. "We are here to serve them and get them through this difficult time.
Dr. Mednansky believes making progress requires awareness and funding.
"I would look at the years that have built on to where we are now," Mednansky said. "If you look at, you know, in the 1950s and 1960s, the majority of children with cancer ultimately passed away of their illness."
Mednansky said the most common thing the clinic treats is acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which now has a 90% cure rate among specific populations.
"So, you see a disease, you know, a singular disease like that, where the mortality rates, you know, even 50 years, 50 or 60 years ago, were so high," Dr. Mednansky said. "Now we've made such a huge, significant impact that it, I think, in that you see the meaningfulness of what we're doing."
Melissa said even though cancer is a big scary word for Brady, they think focusing on the impact of cancer studies, like the ones he goes through, will significantly impact the future of cancer treatments.
She said she never expected to need St. Jude when she donated in the past and encourages everyone to give if they can.
For details on St. Jude’s mission, visit its website here.
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