SARA

At six years old, Sara Jean knows way more about the ins and outs of a hospital than any child should have to. That’s because she has spent half of her young life in cancer treatment.

It started with a hard lump in her forearm. Her parents thought it was bone, her doctor thought it might be a hematoma under the skin, but just days after her 3rd birthday, Sara Jean was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma—a rare form of cancer. After six weeks of radiation, 46 weeks of chemotherapy and a surgery that removed muscle from her forearm, Sara Jean went into remission. But in 2012 they found another lump in the same arm, and she began a new course of treatment. Today, Sara Jean is on maintenance chemotherapy that is likely to continue through the end of the year, but that isn’t holding her back. She plays hockey, loves school and has a repertoire of impressive Ninja moves. Her hair is emblazoned with a bold streak of pink, and at six years old she is a fiery role model to her younger brother and sister.