Life After Diagnosis: The 20-Year Journey of a Leukemia Survivor
This National Cancer Survivors Day, meet Cameron—and see how our whole-family cancer foundation keeps a lifelong promise of support to those facing a diagnosis.
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On any given week, you might find Cameron Stott perfecting a recipe in a Young Adult cooking class, cheering at a racetrack, or soaking in a performance at The Fox Theatre, his favorite place in the world. He is 25, joyful, and—by every measure—thriving.
But Cameron's story began in a very different place.
His parents, Deanna and her husband, were still wrapping their hearts around a Down syndrome diagnosis when, at just nine months old, Cameron was diagnosed with leukemia.
"It was a scary time for all of us," Deanna recalls.
After a grueling treatment plan at Vanderbilt Hospital, the family moved care home to Chattanooga to continue the fight—and through every round of chemotherapy and every long hospital stay, Cameron himself set the tone. He smiled and hugged his way through the entire process.
Cameron entered remission around age four. But as the Stotts quickly learned, the end of chemotherapy wasn't the end of the journey.
The Lasting Footprint of Cancer Survivorship
The chemotherapy that saved Cameron’s life left a lasting footprint: brittle bones, heart monitoring, and extreme sun sensitivity. As the years have passed, his younger twin brothers have become his natural protectors. Today, it’s not uncommon to hear them calling out from the baseball field, "Mom, he’s been in the sun too long!"
While Cameron’s brothers looked out for his safety, the Stott family had to navigate the "invisible" side of cancer: mounting medical bills after Deanna left work to become a full-time caregiver, school disruptions, and the emotional weight of a journey no one can prepare for.
"Just because a family is not in active treatment doesn't mean they don't have needs unique to the cancer diagnosis. All of that is still a part of your life."— Deanna Stott, Cameron's mom
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Free Childhood Cancer Support Services That Grow with the Family
When Cameron reached remission, our support didn't stop—it evolved with him. As Cameron's needs have changed throughout his life, the Austin Hatcher Foundation adjusted the childhood cancer support services available to his family:
- For the Parents: Financial guidance and school advocacy—so Deanna could focus on Cameron, not paperwork.
- For the Siblings: Family support that helped Cameron's brothers process, heal, and grow.
- For Cameron: Community, cooking classes, and connection—spaces to where Cameron could be a young man, not a patient.
"If you guys were to cut us off, where would we go?"— Deanna Stott
Hope for Families Navigating a Pediatric Cancer Journey
Today, Cameron lives with contagious joy. For a family just beginning their own pediatric cancer journey, meeting him is the ultimate reassurance—a living reminder that there is a full, vibrant life waiting on the other side of a diagnosis.
There is hope. There is life after diagnosis.
Your support makes it possible for families like the Stotts to access therapy, financial guidance, community, and enrichment—at $0 cost, for as long as they need it. You are the reason leukemia survivors like Cameron get to thrive.
Thank you for being part of this journey for the long haul.
