Help Support Jia in Her Battle Against High-Risk Neuroblastoma

This fundraiser is to support our amazing Jia and her family as she battles high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer that affects the nervous system.

Update: Jia’s Cancer Has Relapsed

Unfortunately, after being in remission for just three months, Jia’s MIBG scan on August 12, 2026 showed a new cancerous lesion on her right hip.

The numbers surrounding relapsed high-risk neuroblastoma are difficult to hear. About half of children have some degree of response to the standard treatment, meaning their cancer shrinks or disappears. Another group may have their disease remain stable for a period of time, while approximately one-third have cancer that continues to progress despite treatment.

Even when treatment works and children make it back into remission, another relapse is unfortunately still common. About half are progression-free at one year, and only about one in four remain progression-free at two years. There are children who survive for many years after relapse, but many receive additional therapies along the way.

This is what makes relapsed neuroblastoma so complicated. Our immediate goal is to get Jia’s cancer back under control while also doing everything we possibly can to make that remission last and prevent another relapse.

After meeting with our oncology team, we decided to enroll Jia in a clinical trial at UCSF that gives her access to a new treatment approach in addition to the current standard of care.

If the treatment goes as planned, Jia will receive it every three weeks for a total of six cycles from September through December. Each cycle means approximately one week of chemotherapy and treatment in the hospital, followed by two weeks at home before we begin again.

This relapse has also changed our family’s plans once again. I (Dena) had finally returned to work full-time and had been back for only one week when we learned that Jia's cancer had returned. I now need to continue taking significant time away from work to care for her, while our health insurance premiums remain thousands of dollars per month

Any support you are able to give our family during this time allows us to focus on what matters most: caring for Jia and giving her every possible chance to fight this disease.

Meet Jia

Jia is a bright, brave, and loving 4-year-old who adores fairies and unicorns, exploring in her garden, dancing and singing, and everything pink and rainbow.

Her journey with cancer began suddenly in January 2025, after she became very sick following a family trip to Disneyland. Within days, she was rushed to the ER, where lab work showed alarming results.

On January 17, 2025, we received the devastating news: Jia had high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. A large tumor had formed on her adrenal gland, and the cancer had already spread to her liver, arm, leg, and scalp.

She immediately began her first round of chemotherapy. What began as an emergency room visit turned into a six-week initial hospital stay, at the end of which we welcomed our beautiful second daughter, Adela, in the very same hospital, just a few floors down.

Since her diagnosis, Jia has endured countless procedures, painful treatments, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, major surgery, radiation, immunotherapy, and two intense stem cell transplants, each requiring approximately a month in the hospital.

She has lost so much of her normal childhood to cancer, but through it all, she has shown incredible courage and somehow maintained her infectious positivity.

Why We Need Your Support

Caring for Jia through intensive cancer treatment is a full-time job. Her hospitalizations, treatments, appointments, medications, and day-to-day care require us to take significant unpaid time away from work.

After more than a year and a half of treatment, and now facing relapse, the financial impact continues to grow. In addition to lost income, maintaining our family's health insurance while I am away from work costs us thousands of dollars per month.

How Your Support Will Help:

Your donations will help us cover:

✅ Medical expenses, medications, and co-pays

✅ Transportation to and from Jia’s many appointments and hospital stays

✅ Household essentials and everyday living expenses

✅ Dena's lost income while she takes unpaid leave to care for Jia

✅ Continued access to our health insurance, with premiums currently costing thousands of dollars per month

Every donation, share, and message of encouragement makes a real difference. Your support allows us to spend less time worrying about how we will manage financially and more time being present with Jia as we face the uncertainty ahead.

Thank you for continuing to stand beside Jia and our family

With gratitude,

Dena

Follow Jia's Journey

For updates, you can follow Dena and Hoya on Instagram:

Or, you can follow Jia's Facebook Page