October 15 is Global Lobular Cancer Awareness Day. Invasive lobular cancer (ILC) is breast cancer that begins in the lobules. ILC is an invasive breast cancer because cancer cells in the lobules have invaded nearby breast tissue and may travel from the breast to other parts of the body.  This type of breast cancer (ILC) is the second most common type of invasive breast cancer and tends to be hormone receptor positive (HR+), HER2-negative and slow growing. ILC is often hard to detect because o...

In February 2021, Tennille Smith was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. In October 2021, she completed treatment and, just a month later, she received devastating news: The cancer had spread and she now had metastatic breast cancer (MBC), for which there is no cure today.  Tests confirmed Tennille’s MBC had spread to her brain and throughout her body. “It’s heartbreaking,” Tennille said. “Going from stage 2 to stage 4 within such a short time shows how unpredictable breast cancer is, and w...

Karen Powell, a breast cancer nurse practitioner and reconstruction specialist, has spent 15 years caring for women undergoing mastectomies and reconstruction. Then, in 2024, she discovered a lump in her breast. She was 39 and hadn’t yet had a mammogram herself, given her age.  The night Karen felt the lump in her breast was a typical evening. Her husband was on a business trip and her four kids had spent the day at summer camp. “We had dinner and showers and evening snuggles,” she said. Afte...

First steps are a momentous occasion, taken uncertainly, tentatively. First steps open up a brand new world of independence, movement, growth. As a baby, Aubrey met her milestones — walking, talking — on time. When she was 3 years old, her parents enrolled her in her first dance lessons. Aubrey quickly fell in love. “We thought she’d go to dance until it was time for her to start t-ball or soccer,” said her mom, Melinda. “But from the start, it was always dance.” When she was on stage, Au

They first met in New York City, at a photo shoot for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — two families on separate cancer journeys, but with so much common ground over which to bond. And bond they did, the families of Markell, a teen with bone cancer, and Arianna, a young girl with a brain tumor. “Markell was playing with all the other kids when we walked into the studio,” said Arianna’s dad, Enrique, recalling a relationship that began in 2010 and continues with next month’s St. Jude Memp

Owen strapped on the face mask and stepped on the treadmill. He started slowly, regulating his breath and his pace. He picked up speed as he ran. And ran. And ran. His goal? Measuring how efficiently his body uses oxygen during exercise. The VO2 max test would establish a baseline for Owen, a former St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patient now enrolled in the hospital’s research program for cancer survivors. “It’s supposed to be a test to failure, until the patient says they can’t go anym