‘Living life to the fullest’

The diagnosis of childhood cancer is a parent's worst nightmare.

According to the National Cancer Institute, in the U.S., almost 15,000 children and adolescents under the age of 20 will be diagnosed with cancer this year. On Nov. 9, 2023, Kristen Dement received a diagnosis for her child she never expected. Her 5-year-old son, Colton Gower, had been in and out of the hospital for a while due to what doctors' thought was bronchitis.

“We went to the ER because he was really pale,' Dement said. “Nobody would do bloodwork on us and they kept saying he had bronchitis. They didn’t know what was wrong with him.”