Brandi Saizan

January 5, 1995 my parents got the worst news any family could want…..we found a mass. I was hospitalized and rushed to surgery for what the doctors thought was a ruptured appendix. To their surprise they found a 10 cm mass wrapped around my left ovary at two and a half years young. They immediately removed the ovary, the mass, and sent it for testing. In this whirlwind my family found themselves walking back through the doors of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital with yet another child. I cannot imagine the wave of emotions running through my parents as they had to walk back into the hospital they just left three years and one month prior with empty arms to come home and  lay my brother to rest.

My brother was diagnosed in September of 1992 with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia more specifically targeting his T-cells, and went to his eternal resting place December 5, 1992 due to complications from treatment. Charles Joseph, CJ, was the first case of this type of cancer his doctor at St. Jude had seen in the US to date and hit him with any and every treatment he could think of. He ultimately ended up having five vessels in the back of his head rupture which he could not recover from. Unfortunately following his passing we learned that his cancer had spread through the rest of his body.

St. Jude is a  magnificent place that has helped thousands of families in the worst imaginable times in their lives. No family ever receives a bill for anything. My family never had to pay for a plane ticket, hotel room, meal in the hospital, treatment, blood test, or anything. 

I try to do at minimum one fundraiser a year for St. Jude's to give back to the very hospital that is the sole reason a lot of childhood cancer survivors are alive today. They monitored me from two years old through the time I was eighteen, and now continue to monitor me every five years as an adult. I formed this team in memory of my brother, in hopes to make even the slightest difference in his honor. 

September is national childhood cancer awareness month, but it is year round for families like mine. Join the ranks with me and my team and lets try to make a difference in the battle for childhood cancer!

Can I count on your donation to help me reach my goal?

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – so they can focus on helping their child live. Because of our generous donors, St. Jude can provide children cutting-edge treatments not covered by insurance, at no cost to families.

When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and we won't stop until no child dies from cancer. Thank you for supporting me and the lifesaving work happening at St. Jude today.  

Let’s cure childhood cancer. Together.