Lily's Story

Benefiting Lily’s Garden Discovery Researcher Fund at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

On December 1, 2008, Lily was diagnosed with Pre-B ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia); she was 7 and in the 2nd grade. Her doctor explained leukemia by telling her that leukemia cells were like weeds in a garden that crowded out the good flowers, and that the medication “chemo” would act like a weed killer. For over two years, Lily went through a regimen of daily chemotherapy and other treatments to kill all the weeds so that only healthy and beautiful flowers would grow in "Lily's Garden." She successfully completed treatment by taking her last chemo pill on February 21, 2011.

For over 5 years Lily remained cancer free. Unfortunately, though on September 22, 2016, when she was 15 and a Sophomore in High School she relapsed and began her second battle with leukemia. Relapsing over five years after finishing treatment for leukemia is extremely rare. For her relapse treatment, Lily was enrolled in a new study where she was treated with a combination of harsher chemotherapy and a new immunotherapy drug Blinatumomab. After many hospitalizations and horrendous side effects from the treatment on September 26, 2018, Lily completed treatment yet again.

Despite missing several years of school, Lily kept up with her school work and in 2019 graduated from High School with her original classmates. Today her leukemia is in remission, and she is enjoying college at the University of South Carolina in her quest to be a pediatric oncologist.

Lily’s disease motivated her and her family to start “Lily’s Garden” a fundraising organization dedicated to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Lily initially set a goal of $1 million dollars. However, upon reaching her initial goal, she decided that she wouldn’t stop until there was a cure for cancer.

Her community has rallied around her in support, and Lily’s Garden has currently raised over $2 million dollars to support pediatric cancer efforts at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. To date these funds have established the Lily’s Garden Endowed Lecture and Grand Rounds in Childhood Cancer and the Lily’s Garden Childhood Cancer Research Fund at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The endowment provides yearly support for research in childhood cancer through Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and supports guest lectures and research opportunities for junior faculty members and fellows in pediatric hematology/oncology. 

In 2018, the Lily’s Garden Fellowship was established at the Children’s Hospital. “At Children’s Hospital, an essential part of our mission is clinical training for our fellows – the next generation of leaders in pediatric health care who will lead tomorrow’s discoveries,” Dr. Friedman said. “We are so grateful to Lily and her family for choosing to support the first endowed fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at Children’s Hospital, known as the Lily’s Garden Fellowship. This groundbreaking fellowship will make a difference for decades to come in the fight against childhood cancer.” 

According to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, cancer is the #1 cause of death by disease among children. Only 4% of the billions of dollars the government spends annually on cancer research is directed toward treating childhood cancer. Most current standard treatments for pediatric cancer were approved 32 years ago; many before the mid-1980’s.

Please consider donating to help end childhood cancer. Every dollar you give counts towards finding cures and less harmful treatments to children battling cancer.