No matter how good we may or may not comprehend spelling, one thing that everyone can understand is pain, particularly when it comes in the form of cancer. How we deal with that pain, however, is a different matter altogether.

During my January visit to St. Jude, I remember turning a corner to see a little girl in a wheelchair. Her head was smooth where her hair used to be. When she realized that I was looking at her, she offered me a smile as she rubbed her scalp. "I have cancer," she said. "My medicine made me lose my hair." Her voice was soft, her bright blue eyes unwavering as she looked back at me.

"It will grow back," I told her, offering a smile.

She nodded at me before her nurse wheeled her away toward her chemotherapy treatment. I was struck by how pretty she was, even if she didn't have any hair. But I was also caught off guard by her bravery.

I've had friends who have been diagnosed with cancer and it is common for them to get angry or frightened. And while this little girl at St. Jude may have gone through those emotions herself, she, like so many of the St. Jude kids I met, possessed a resilience and determination to get better that was incomparable.

That little girl knew that she was part of the St. Jude family, which is comprised of the staff, patients, and most of all the generous donors who make cures and treatments for all kinds of cancers and other catastrophic pediatric diseases possible. Won't you become a Partner In Hope today and join the St. Jude family? It is easy to do, and your contributions will go a long way toward giving all the St. Jude kids the kind of hope it takes to be brave enough to battle these horrible diseases.

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