Lily is a kid that loves to play! Her imagination is vast and she makes up games like “doctor” and “cooking”. She likes make-up, nail polish, and the color pink, and hates being told “no”. She is strong and independent, and full of love, light, spunk and sass. She always makes people smile wherever she goes, and she doesn't let life slow her down. Lily is a shining example of bravery, strength, and resilience. She is constantly inspiring people to keep going even on the hardest days.  

Lily received her first cancer diagnosis at 18 months old. She didn’t have any huge warning signs beforehand, but a week leading up to diagnosis Lily started to experience stomach pain and constipation. Her mom took her to the ER. At first, they told her it was just constipation, but three days later when she took Lily back to the ER, it turned out to be much worse. Doctors did some imaging and found a large mass in her abdomen. That was the first time Lily and her family heard the word neuroblastoma. Lily had cancer. 

Neuroblastoma is a cancer of immature nerve cells that can grow anywhere in the body. For Lily, this was in her abdomen. 

A week later, after reality set in, life became very different. Lily began treatment, undergoing six rounds of inpatient chemotherapy, resection surgery, two bone marrow transplants, 12 rounds of sedated radiation, and six rounds of immunotherapy. In addition to all of this, she also had weekly blood draws, fevers, regular illnesses, and numerous scans. In September 2025, Lily was officially done with treatment and was considered to be in remission. 

But just two months later, in November 2025, Lily relapsed with neuroblastoma. Lily had been experiencing headaches that would wake her up at night, and with Lily’s history, her parents brought her to the ER for immediate scans. A mass was found again, this time in the right frontal lobe of her brain. Luckily, she had a successful brain surgery to fully remove the tumor! 

Today, Lily is now receiving a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy – six rounds with a six-day hospital stay for each round. Following this, Lily will receive more than 20 rounds of radiation to her brain and spinal cord to make sure her cancer does not come back. She is 3 years old. 

Despite having extreme health difficulties, Lily continues to be a light in everyone's life. Especially her mom, Nicole’s. She is her hero. “Lily is everything a hero is,” Nicole said. “She is brave, kind, strong, caring, loving, and so much more. Her resilience inspires me every day to keep going. She has motivated her father to do triathlons and Ironman races to raise awareness about childhood cancer. I am Lily's full-time caregiver and I am so blessed to be able to witness the impact she has on everyone around her. I just want her to survive.” 

Nicole hopes to be a resource for others who may also be experiencing a childhood cancer diagnosis, as she knows what it’s like and would like to help others through it. To her, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is also a resource for others: it means hope for a brighter future, awareness for childhood cancer, and strength to keep going and fighting for children. 

"It's okay Mommy, just keep trying." - Childhood cancer hero, Lily 

Information provided by Nicole R., Lily’s mom 
Updated March 2026