Julia Janes

Following the initial shock of her diagnosis, Julia immediately began undergoing treatment. Her chemotherapy program required her to be in the hospital for two days, then home for two weeks, and then back in the hospital for five days—a grueling schedule that repeated over the next ten months.

During her two weeks at home, Julia was also required to visit the Keyser Family Pediatric Cancer Clinic at Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn. The twice-weekly visits were made more bearable by the fact that her Aunt Tricia worked there as a Children’s Oncology Group nurse. As she adjusted to life as a cancer patient, Julia sought any distraction from the painful treatments. Text messages, phone calls, and Facebook updates from friends certainly helped, but she found that watching movies or listening to music on an iPod Touch she had received from a relative were the best tonics for her constant pain.

One of the more memorable and moving moments occurred when the Oak Forest High School Marching Band surprised Julia by performing at the clinic just before the school’s annual homecoming football game.

Always an avid music fan, Julia soon noticed her musical tastes shifting from hip-hop and pop to more soothing classical tunes featuring horns and flutes. She also observed a change in her brother, Mike. Her diagnosis brought out a protective, nurturing side in him. Mike surprised Julia daily in ways designed to lift her spirits—bringing Peanut to the hospital dressed in silly outfits, blowing up purple medical gloves and placing them on his head like a rooster’s crown, and carrying Julia to and from the car whenever she was too weak to walk. Their parents were astonished and moved by this new closeness between siblings.

Julia and the entire Janes family have glowing praise for the supportive nursing staff at the Keyser Clinic. The nurses repeatedly went above and beyond to ensure Julia’s comfort—whether by alerting doctors to her changing condition or simply filling a prescription at a critical time. Her father, Jeff, recognized the staff’s excellence immediately, saying, “You just know quality when you see it, and those nurses had it.” Julia recalls, “I felt comforted the instant I arrived, and they immediately made me feel special. I met other teens battling cancer, and together we made up a group the nurses referred to as the Coffee Clutch. We kept the coffee and hot chocolate machines going nonstop, and we made Bananagrams and Halloween decorations and treats for the younger cancer patients.”

The Janes family also expresses deep appreciation for the Treasure Chest Foundation, which brought moments of joy and distraction from pain to young patients at Hope. Julia began collecting $5 gift cards from the Foundation’s Treasure Chest, eventually saving enough to buy a new camera. Other gift cards—McDonald’s, Subway, Jamba Juice—helped offset the challenges of hospital food. Her favorites were for makeup, jewelry, and clothing from Forever 21.

Julia was especially touched by the kindness of a young boy who, after carefully choosing from the Treasure Chest toys, selected a pair of high-heeled princess shoes as a gift for his sister. Her mother, Leslie, was similarly moved. “You just can’t imagine how, in the blink of an eye, a young child would go from tears to laughter when they chose a toy from the Treasure Chest . . . even when they planned to give it to their sister.”

A teenager’s mood is often most affected by peer interaction. Julia found it difficult to be away from her friends during treatment but remains grateful to those who supported her throughout the ordeal. Her advice to other teens diagnosed with cancer is to maintain a positive attitude. “Cancer changed the way I see things and look at life every day,” she says. That change in perspective extended to her father, Jeff, who noted that workplace arguments no longer seem important after what their family has faced.

As Leslie wrote in the family’s online journal, “Every good story has a happy ending.” And so it was for Julia. Shortly after 11 p.m. on April 19, 2010, Julia completed her final chemotherapy treatment. The next morning, she returned home—a cancer survivor. A month later, after scans and x-rays showed good results, the Janes family celebrated with ice cream at the Plush Horse.

Today, Julia is thriving. In her senior year, she once again serves as a yearbook editor, maintains her grades as a member of the National Honor Society, and participates in Operation Snowball, Interact, and the Oak Forest Youth Commission. She tutors another student in flute and hopes to take guitar lessons next summer. Her parents admit that her battle with cancer changed their outlook on life. “We don’t worry about things the way we used to,” says Leslie. “This experience has helped me learn to enjoy every moment of every day. It broke my heart to see kids suffering, and now I want to do more for young cancer patients. I’ll be connected to Hope Hospital for the rest of my life.”

Leslie observed in their journal that some teens are still struggling, others have become survivors, and some have become angels. For teenagers fighting cancer, there are no guarantees. But what remains certain is that love, support from family and friends, and the generosity of donors to organizations like the Treasure Chest Foundation are vital elements in a teenager’s journey toward survivorship.