STARS

June 2026

Diagnosis: 4x cancer survivor of sarcoma with early stage of Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)

Fun Facts about Hunter: Hunter loves music, especially listening to her favorite songs and playing both the flute and guitar. She enjoys live concerts, creating art, crafting, drawing, sewing, and makeup. She has played soccer, roller skates around the house, and loves her French bulldog, Louie, very much. In the summer, she enjoys spending time at the beach with friends and loves going on long road trips.

Hunter’s Cancer Journey: Hunter’s story is one of courage, love, and a battle no child should ever have to face. My daughter Hunter’s cancer journey began when she was only 2 years old, after she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma. At an age when most children are learning to talk, play, and explore the world freely, Hunter was introduced to hospitals, scans, procedures, and cancer treatment. Our family was suddenly thrown into a fight no parent ever imagines facing with their toddler. From the very beginning, Hunter showed remarkable strength. Through treatment, appointments, fear, and uncertainty, she fought through a diagnosis that would challenge even an adult. As her mother, I quickly learned that survival would require constant advocacy, courage, trust in medicine, and holding onto hope every single day. Years later, at ages 7 and 13, Hunter was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer involving the head and neck region. Because of where her disease develops, every decision has carried serious consequences involving critical nerves, muscles, bone, appearance, speech, movement, comfort, and daily function. Hunter’s case has never been routine. After her second cancer diagnosis in 2017, genetic testing confirmed a TP53 mutation, also known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome. This means Hunter lives with an inherited predisposition to cancer and requires lifelong vigilance, precision screening, and careful treatment planning. Our family is not only fighting the disease in front of us, but also living with the reality that future battles can come without warning. Hunter’s journey has included multiple surgeries, repeated surveillance, and heartbreaking recurrences. Most recently, in October 2025, pathology confirmed clinically recurrent high-grade osteosarcoma in the same region as her prior cancers. Although surgeons achieved negative margins, meaning the visible tumor was removed, this marked her fourth recurrence in a child who has already endured more than most people face in a lifetime. At the same time, new bone marrow findings added another serious layer of complexity. Her marrow showed dysplasia in multiple blood-forming cell lines, raising concern for myelodysplastic syndrome, also called MDS, a disorder where the bone marrow does not produce healthy blood cells normally. Additional genetic and chromosome testing found deletions of chromosome 5q and 7q, abnormalities associated with myeloid malignancies such as MDS and AML. Later cytogenetics also identified loss involving 17p as part of a complex abnormal clone, which may represent a more serious marrow disorder requiring expert management.

But Hunter’s story is not only about illness. It is about a mother’s love, the strength of family, and the refusal to give up. It is about learning to live between appointments, finding joy in ordinary moments, and holding onto hope during the hardest days. Today, we are not limiting Hunter’s future to one opinion or one institution. We are actively working to connect her care with top hospitals, leading physicians, researchers, and specialized centers across the country. We are seeking collaboration in pediatric sarcoma, bone marrow failure syndromes, genetics, immunotherapy, transplant medicine, and precision oncology to help fight this disease with every possible resource. Hunter has faced cancer as a toddler, as a child, and now as a teenager. But she is so much more than her diagnoses. She is strong, intelligent, brave, and deeply loved. She is not defined by cancer, genetics, surgeries, or medical reports. She is a daughter, a light, and a fighter. Her story is still being written—not by fear, but by courage. Not by diagnosis, but by determination. Our mission is simple: to keep pushing, keep searching, and keep fighting until Hunter gets the future she deserves. Strength can live in the smallest bodies, and hope can rise even in the darkest moments.

How JTI Helped: JTI provided Hunter’s family with an emergency relief grant to help with car payments and their phone bill. Hunter’s mom describes how this impacted their family:

“Any financial assistance is deeply appreciated as our family continues to put every effort into Hunter’s wellbeing, both for today and for her future. My retail shop has been temporarily closed since January due to the demands of Hunter’s medical care. As a result, my income has been placed on hold while business bills, rent, utilities, and other expenses have continued to fall behind. As a single mother, I am fully responsible for caring for Hunter while also supporting my son, Cameron, who is only 13 months younger than her. The emotional, medical, and financial responsibilities have become overwhelming, and any support would help relieve the immediate pressure on our family while allowing me to remain focused on Hunter’s care.”

Thank you to Hunter’s mom, Lauren, for sharing her story with us.