Jaden was diagnosed with Rhabdomysarcoma on March 12, 2011.

On March 9, 2011, five year old Jaden was admitted to Children’s Hospital for what was believed to be compacted bowels.  There they found a tumor the size of a small cantaloupe in her stomach/pelvic area. On March 12th, her family received the news that it was cancer.  In just a matter of days, Jaden began the first of 54 weeks of chemotherapy and 5 weeks of radiation. To the doctors amazement, during her 5 weeks of radiation treatment, Jaden managed to lie perfectly still without being sedated.

After completion of radiation, the tumor had shrunk down to the size of a ping pong ball and was successfully removed on September 6th, 2011. Miraculously, the tumor was not attached to anything in her abdomen. Jaden is currently in week 39 of her treatment and will finish up in May.  She doesn’t mind her chemo treatments and lack of hair, because she knows it’s helping her get better. She’s just happy to not have that pain in her tummy anymore!

After treatment she looks forward to getting back to the things she loves, like ballet class, soccer, and Bible class. But right now, she’s content to help mom around the house with her brand new baby sister, paint everyone’s nails, dance along to her favorite Wii game, play with Barbies, and play dress up. Jaden truly is an inspiration.