Shifting from competitive cheerleader in pink to teen fighting for survival from a rare bone cancer and leukemia, Kaden Peebles reminds us all that every victory, no matter the size, is an occasion for celebration.
"Phenomenal resilience in the face of near insurmountable odds. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are facing unexpected challenges in your own life. Inspiring!" - Jay Wellons, MD, All That Moves Us: a pediatric neurosurgeon, his young patients, and their stories of grace and resilience (The New Yorker and Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2022)
"Through Kaden's eyes, we see the world of childhood cancer patients. With grit, faith, and compassion . . . she is one true hero for the oncology community." - Naina S. Mahngar, MD, Medical Hematology/Oncology
As a cheerleader beginning her junior year of high school in a small Arkansas town-home of The Nashville Scrappers-Kaden Peebles nursed an annoying pain in her hip with ibuprofen. What was first explained away and treated as a sports injury continued to escalate until a scan revealed the worst-case-scenario: a malignant tumor and a diagnosis of Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer.
Plunged into the world of hospitals, port placement, chemo, needles, blood counts, and the delicate balance of killing cancer while not dying, Kaden shifted into her new identity as a 17-year-old with cancer. To survive physically and emotionally through three cancer diagnoses, Kaden would draw on every lesson she learned as a member of her highly-charged and deeply-loyal school community.
Nearly 7 years of fighting cancer, 35 rounds of chemo, 40 radiation sessions, 2 bone marrow transplants, and more than 180 blood transfusions later-and having witnessed the deaths of numerous children fighting cancer alongside her-Kaden reflects on how her relentless charge to survive cancer with her family, healthcare team, and community by her side has shaped her young life, guided by the belief that what might take her body could never defeat her spirit.
