Pediatric Proton Therapy Center Patient Stories

A unique program at CHOP allowed 7-year-old Isabella to attend school at the hospital while also getting radiation treatment for cancer.

When her benign brain tumor came back, Elena and her family traveled from Ohio to CHOP for 39 rounds of proton therapy.

Kaitlyn lights up the room with her smile and emanates positivity, despite her battle with rhabdomyosarcoma.

Eager to talk, question and explain, Ella, 7, has an engaging personality. After a cancerous mass was found in Ella’s abdomen, and then another in her lungs, she’s on a treatment plan that isn’t getting in the way of her being a happy, active kid.

When chemotherapy didn’t shrink JR's tumor, his family came to CHOP for proton radiation therapy. Today, the 4 ½-year-old loves riding his bike and playing with his little sister.

After a year of treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma, Dylan shows no signs of the disease and his family is optimistic about the future.

Diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma at 14, Carly has endured months of intensive treatment, but her positivity has persisted through it all.

When a CT scan showed a tumor in Jake’s brain, he was sent to CHOP immediately for surgery. Doctors diagnosed the mass as Ewing sarcoma, a type of cancerous tumor.

When Mary McKernan was 3 years old, she was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a rare brain cancer. She was treated with surgery and proton therapy at CHOP.

Trish Cartafalsa noticed that her 2-year-old, Ryan, was having problems with balance. Days later, he was having a pediatric brain tumor removed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.