One of the few professional photos that Ann Ramer has of her middle two kids, shows a smiling 15-year-old Lauren and a 17-year-old Brent. Not pictured: the IV lines tucked just out of the frame that are delivering chemotherapy to Lauren, who was in treatment for childhood cancer. It’s her fourth time—and her brother Brent’s fourth or fifth, depending on how you count the number of times his leukemia relapsed.

Ann remembers the day it was taken. She was juggling regular life for her family of six with getting Brent to the oncology clinic for a check up for his relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. Lauren, who was in treatment for a very rare osteosarcoma on her skin, was already at clinic with her dad, impatiently waiting as the IV pumped. Lauren called her mom and excitedly announced that the Flashes of Hope photographer was there. Ann was 30 minutes away and said she’d try to make it but didn’t think she would.

But, the photographer waited.  

The photos from that day of Lauren and Brent together remain a treasure. Six months later, Brent died after battling cancer for seven years. Lauren continued treatment and is now 24 years old. 

“Those are best pictures. Just so precious,” Ann said with a smile, as she admired them on her walls. 

The family had been photographed by Flashes of Hope, an Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation program that brings professional photographers to families battling childhood cancer. The photographers go to oncology clinics and summer camps to give families something lasting to hold onto during an experience that can otherwise feel defined by cancer. 

For Ann’s family, childhood cancer was not an isolated experience. Lauren and Brent both were diagnosed with  Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare genetic condition that dramatically increases the risk of developing cancer. Their shared diagnosis meant that cancer would become an extraordinary part of both their childhoods and that photographs from Flashes of Hope would take on a significance far beyond a single afternoon. Combined, the siblings faced six different types of cancer, several relapses, and spent seven years in treatment together. Flashes of Hope photographers had eight sessions with them—meeting them at the clinic, hospital, and camp. 

The program is driven by volunteer professional photographers who set up full photoshoots, pulling out all the stops to make kids feel comfortable. Ann recalls when Lauren had her hair curled before one session—a time when treatment hadn’t yet taken her locks—and how special she felt to smile and pose. Ann hopped in some of those with Lauren, hugging her daughter, freezing a moment of mother-daughter love in one beautiful picture.  

The photos capture so many stories. Brent was photographed in 2012, standing on his two legs, with an IV pole in the frame. He was in treatment for a large osteosarcoma tumor that was in his pelvis. Doctors recommended a radical amputation but instead were able to resect the tumor and salvage his limb.

“He could walk. Brent was always so happy about that,” recalls Ann. 

One of Ann’s favorite photos is of Brent at a fundraising gala. Brent, who was typically quiet and introverted, shined on stage in his tux, confident in himself and his journey. As the siblings battled cancers on and off—their other two siblings, one older and one younger, were also impacted. Brent’s brother Alex would become his bone marrow donor and later donated a skin graft to Brent, as he battled graft versus host disease, a side effect of transplant. And through it all, Flashes of Hope photographers were there—capturing moments at camp, one of Lauren’s favorite places, and also some very raw moments. 

In one photo, Brent’s wearing a shirt with “Happy Camper” printed across his chest, but Brent is the exact opposite. His shoulders are hitched, his eyes pinched, his mouth nearly flat. He’s mad, glaring at the camera.  Ann didn’t like it when she first saw it in 2014. But a fellow childhood cancer mom pointed out that childhood cancer isn’t always cute. 

“It isn’t just smiling bald toddlers,” said Ann. The photo, taken when Brent was battling his second cancer, metastatic melanoma, hangs on the wall opposite Ann’s desk, the first in a group of four. 

For Ann, these photos are a gift, given to her family during times when she had to focus on advocating and researching treatments, making travel arrangements, managing car pools, mothering her four kids, and running through days of chaos. 

“You are so busy. You aren’t thinking about taking photos,” said Ann of the time when her kids were in treatment. “Providing photos to families, it is an extraordinary thing.”

There are four photos that hang in Ann’s office: the glaring Brent, the last photo of Brent and Lauren together, Ann with Lauren in her curls, and one just of Lauren, signed by basketball player Channing Frye. These photos captured moments that could have passed by in a swirl of chemotherapy, clinic visits, and hard decisions. Instead, they gave the Ramer family something to hold onto: images of Brent and Lauren not just as children with cancer but as themselves. 

Since 2001, Flashes of Hope volunteers have photographed over 96,000 families. In 2026, 1,200 children have been photographed so far. To learn more about volunteering for Flashes of Hope, visit here. You can support the work of Flashes of Hope, a program of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, by making a donation here.