FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
This is 5-year-old Jayden. Look at that beautiful face. A year ago, she was diagnosed with cancer in her muscles. With a smile like this, you might not guess she's endured ruthless treatments for the past year. She's a regular pro in the doctor's office.
Now after a 11 months of treatments. Poking and Prodding. She'll be able to do outpatient treatments.
Her doctor, Dr. Bates, tells her mom, "We'll get your paperwork together and see you on the other side."
Children's Hospital Central California Craycroft Cancer Center treats the most common types of childhood cancer to the rarest conditions.
Pediatric Oncologist Dr. Faisal Razzaqi says, "We treat Leukemia. We see brain tumors, we see other types of solid tumors. Congenital Leukemia or congenital tumors that you're just born with."
Newborns to 21-year-olds from Bakersfield to Modesto can come here for cancer treatment.
Dr. Razzaqi says, "Sometimes I feel like we see more cancer in the Central Valley than we should, but I have no way of backing that up."
For a child to be diagnosed with cancer is devastating for families. But to be in a hospital room with your teenage daughter, knowing family and friends are close by, can put a smile on the sickest of faces.
Dr. Razzaqi says, "It gives families that feeling that we can kind of maintain our life, and still be taking care of our child, visiting our child, spending time with our child while they're here."
Children's offers the most advanced cancer treatments out there. And it doesn't matter if the family can afford it or not.
Dr. Razzaqi says, "Most of them are not financially well off and just to be able to treat them with dignity and the same level of care and treatment that someone with more money will have.... It's very rewarding to know that their outcome can be just as good."
Today, almost 80% of children diagnosed with cancer survive. Jayden's family hopes she'll continue to be a survivor too.
