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Tools for fighting childhood leukemia

Nine-year-old Jocelyn of San Marcos loves to make art and play soccer. Like many kids these days, she’s attending school and Girl Scouts virtually, video chatting with friends often, and spending lots of time with her pets. She’s also facing the greatest challenge of her life. For the past 19 months, Jocelyn has been battling leukemia.

Photo credit: Marie Monforte Photography

Jocelyn currently has more good days than bad days, but the road has been bumpy. At times, she has endured lengthy hospital stays and bouts of intense nausea. Yet through this grueling experience, she has discovered a passion for giving back. In the past year, Jocelyn has organized two lemonade stands, raising over $4,000 for Rady Children’s Oncology Toy Box and other charities. Her Girl Scout troop voted to donate half their cookie profits to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in her honor. At the time of this printing, she had nearly reached her sales goal of 1,000 boxes of cookies.

In recognition of her inspiring story and positive attitude, Jocelyn was recently named Girl of the Year for LLS San Diego and Hawaii. In this role, she will serve as a spokesperson for fellow cancer patients and support the organization’s ongoing fundraising efforts.

“The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is an amazing organization that not only has helped us financially, but also with seminars on life after cancer, caretaking and how to advocate for educational needs for Jocelyn,” says mom Tracy Croxen. Remarkably, this is the Croxen family’s second cancer battle in recent years. Tracy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer almost two years to the day before her daughter’s leukemia was discovered. After a radical hysterectomy and 18 chemo treatments, Tracy remains in remission. “I believe I went through my journey to help Jocelyn get through hers,” she says. Jocelyn’s first symptoms were dangerously subtle. The Croxens noticed a swollen lymph node on the left side of their daughter’s neck. Aside from that, she remained happy and active. The next week, though, she was getting fevers every other day. Tracy took Jocelyn to two different doctors, who misdiagnosed her with a sinus infection and allergies. They both recommended holding off on bloodwork. When the fevers didn’t stop, Tracy took it upon herself to take Jocelyn to Rady Children’s (which utilizes specialists from hospitals around the county) to insist they run lab tests. The Croxens received the terrible news that day. “Deep down I knew something was wrong, but to hear the word cancer felt like being punched in the stomach,” says Tracy.

“My husband Brian had a hard time, considering this was the second family diagnosis in such a short period of time.”

In the weeks that followed, Tracy became Jocelyn’s full-time caregiver and advocate. At one point, Jocelyn’s chemo side effects became nearly intolerable. Something felt wrong, so Tracy researched possible problems on her own. She requested a series of tests, which confirmed that Jocelyn wasn’t metabolizing oral chemo properly due to a gene variant. The treatment plan was changed and Jocelyn is now being watched for complications related to her gene variant, such as stroke, blood clot and seizure.

Tracy’s advice: “Always go with your gut. Doctors are wonderful, but they are human and sometimes miss stuff. Don’t be afraid to get second medical opinions—and don’t stop until you get answers.”

It was important for Jocelyn to document this journey and share her progress with others. So, Tracy helped her create an Instagram account to share updates, receive encouragement from friends and build community with other pediatric cancer patients. More than anything, it has helped her realize she’s never alone.

Jocelyn wants other kids like her to know they can get through difficult times. “You just need to look for the bright moments to get through the rough ones,” she says.

Today, Jocelyn is feeling fairly well. Her family was delighted when she had enough energy to celebrate her birthday recently. They marked the occasion with a treat from Cute Cakes Bakery (Escondido) and a virtual scavenger hunt with friends. Jocelyn is currently scheduled to complete all treatment for leukemia in January 2022.

“We are a resilient family full of hope for a brighter and healthier future,” says Tracy.

Anne Malinoski is an award-winning contributing writer. She lives in Santee with her husband and two sons.

April 2021 • SanDiegofamily.com • 19