Juliette is the sweetest and goofiest little 6-year-old girl. She is a twin and loves the beach, water parks, being a ballerina, and dogs (but not real dogs, just anything that looks like them – toys, stuffies, statues, etc.). Despite all that she’s been through, she is a ray of sunshine and has a beautiful heart.

Juliette had been feeling unwell for about a week leading up to Halloween in 2022. She was struggling to eat and leaning sideways when she walked. Her mom, Elizabeth, believed she had a virus, so she took her to urgent care where they told her Juliette might just be constipated. The next day, their family had plans to visit a pumpkin patch, but because Juliette wasn’t doing well, they decided to take her straight to the ER instead. It was busy, and they weren’t called back until 3 AM. At first, they were told Juliette might have a UTI, then perhaps a virus. After staying awake all night, Juliette’s family met a doctor who asked Juliette to walk in front of him. When he saw her leaning, he immediately ordered a CAT scan. He didn’t believe anything would be there, but it was better just to check.

When he returned, he wasn’t alone. A social worker was with him, and Juliette’s family knew something was very wrong. The social worker said they would be hearing “the c word” a lot, but to not be frightened, just to listen. That’s when the doctor revealed that Juliette had a 3 cm tumor in the back of her brain. Juliette had ependymoma.

From there, everything happened quickly. Juliette was taken to an emergency MRI for a better look at her tumor. Then her family had to decide whether Juliette would receive surgery – something they were warned had a 20% chance of detrimentally affecting her, but would save her life. They chose for Juliette to have the surgery, which happened that Wednesday, three days after her diagnosis. It lasted about seven hours and successfully removed her entire tumor.

Unfortunately, this surgery also paralyzed her vocal cords. She was no longer able to swallow her own saliva let alone eat through her mouth. She needed another surgery to insert a G-tube. After that, she received six weeks of proton radiation and four rounds of chemotherapy.

Thankfully, Juliette completed her treatment and has been in remission ever since!

“Juliette is my hero because during this disastrous moment in our lives, she was always so happy and really a ray of sunshine to me and everyone in the hospital,” said Elizabeth. “She loved being in the hospital, even though she knew she would be poked and prodded. She was the only reason I was able to keep myself together while she was literally fighting for her life in front of me. Juliette has a bigger meaning in this world. I will always look up to the strength that a two-year-old had during the hardest time of her life.”

Now, Elizabeth simply hopes that her daughter will live a long, healthy life, and have a childhood like any other kid, but someday become an advocate for ending childhood cancer.

Elizabeth wants other families who may also be facing a childhood cancer diagnosis to know that, even though it is difficult, and everyone’s journey is different, to make sure they ask all the questions they have. “It is important to hold knowledge in these situations when it feels like you have minimal hope and little understanding about what’s going on.”

During Juliette’s diagnosis, Elizabeth’s parents were in Hawaii, and her mother-in-law was in Mexico. They had no one to really lean on, and that’s why community and foundations like Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) mean so much to her.

“There are others like us,” said Elizabeth. “This Foundation means we aren’t the only ones who feel haunted by cancer diagnosis in our families. To me, ALSF is hope that there is more to life than just being a family who was hit by cancer.”

“Mommy are we going to the doctor where I sleep?” – Childhood cancer hero Juliette, referring to when she would visit the hospital for her MRIs

Information provided by Elizabeth De Jesus, Juliette’s mom
Updated April 2026