JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A new chapter in cancer care is how hospital officials are describing the new Players Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Nemours Children’s Health.
The center is twice the size of their previous facility and takes up the entire fifth floor. It makes more of a one-stop-shop for patients and includes an infusion suite with views of the St. Johns River, laboratory space and rooms for consultations and therapy.
One young cancer survivor says she hopes the center can help more people when it opens to patients Monday.
"I wanted to help kids with cancer so I set up a lemonade stand and we raised $100," said Rue Andeer during a ribbon-cutting Tuesday. "And then I gave it to Nemours to help with the new building project."
The ribbon-cutting marked the end of a more than $11 million capital campaign that started in 2019 to renovate the center. The Players donated $2 million.
About 4,000 children are diagnosed with leukemia every year, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Making sure entire families feel comfortable and supported is a main goal for the new center, according to Nemours officials. Some families are also supporting each other.
"What do you want the people to know, Ziggy?" asked McKethan Parker, sitting beside eight-year-old Ziggy Myrthil inside Nemours at the ribbon-cutting.
"My brother is a cancer survivor," Myrthil said. "He's 10 years old now."
Myrthil and Parker met through the Big Buddy program at Children's Cancer Center in Tampa.
"That's where it started, but it has become more of a big brother/young brother relationship," Parker said.
Nemours is a place Parker knows well. He was diagnosed with leukemia when he was a toddler, just like Myrthil's brother.
"Growing up, I'm here all the time for treatments, for chemo, for infections," Parker said. "My mom and dad have the spotlight on me. I have two younger sisters and so, they kind of felt the weight of not getting a ton of attention."
Parker's battle with cancer inspired him to become the doctor he is now and to help children who are in the position his sisters were in.
"That's a big thing that a lot of families deal with," he said. "Each child deserves and needs support, attention and somebody to lean on. So, sometimes when all of that is going to one specific child, it can have negative impacts on the other person. So, that's what the program is designed to try and combat."
Here's how Myrthil describes the program and touring the new center at Nemours.
"Feels like I'm really, really special," he said. "Everybody here's special."
According to the National Cancer Institute, the five-year relative survival rate for childhood leukemia is more than 85 percent.
Nemours has not had a Big Buddy program since before the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are matching patients who've finished treatment with those who are currently undergoing it, according to a hospital spokesperson.
They encourage anyone to get involved through volunteering. Learn how to get involved here.