Tatum's Brave Fight Against Cancer

I never thought we would be in a position to need to ask for help, but here we are. My daughter, Tatum (22), was diagnosed in January with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, an aggressive and difficult-to-treat blood and bone marrow cancer. She has been hospitalized since January 20th, 2025. She has successfully finished her first round of intensive chemotherapy (Yay!), but we are far from finished. Unfortunately, this was the 1st of many hurdles expected over the next year. She will need several more rounds of chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and more to beat this.

Tatum is no stranger to navigating difficult health diagnoses. At just 8 years old, she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that affects the skin and muscle tissues of the body called Juvenile Dermatomyositis. The treatment was aggressive and had its own drawbacks. She endured tons of testing (MRIs, bone density, muscle biopsies, x-rays, CT scans, never-ending bloodwork). She also endured many hospital stays, illness, missing most days from school, and medications that caused further health complications. Throughout those 4 years, she was brave, happy, and resilient. Her ability to cope was astonishing, as is with most children. It was almost 10 years ago now that she was given the all-clear and has been in complete remission. Never did I believe another terrible diagnosis would befall her in such a short time. She is supposed to be starting her adult life, not fighting for it.

We have managed the last month but have realized we need a village to make this happen. Our goal is to provide Tatum with the best possible outcome by making sure her mind stays clear and focused on treatment and eventually recovery. The money raised will go towards medical bills, medications, treatments, travel expenses, utility bills needing to be covered at home, food, etc.

I am sure there will be expenses I haven't even thought of yet.

Tatum is extremely private and has not accepted any visitors. We understand that some may wish to reach out. If you have well wishes, prayers, positive vibes, or something funny to share with her, please let me know and I can get you info on how to share with her.

We appreciate you and thank you for taking the time to read Tatum's story. We can't wait for her to kick the Big C's butt!

#Together4Tatum