CONCORD, N.C. — June is National Cancer Survivors Month, and Channel 9 is celebrating with a teen cancer survivor who is talking about the support she’s received along the way.
Jillian McAdoo, a rising senior in high school from Concord, spent the past year at Novant Health’s Hemby Children’s Hospital after being diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last Spring.
“I love all my nurses,” McAdoo said.
She had her biopsy when she was taking her finals. And now, she is cancer-free.
“Jillian is an incredible person, and she takes everything in stride,” her aunt, Megan Clark, said. “And I think that this shows a lot about who she is, because the first words that came out of her mouth was, ‘It’s just cancer. I’m not dying.’ And that’s how she was her whole treatment.”
And Clark said that seeing McAdoo beat cancer and ring the bell inside the children’s hospital was a great moment.
“It was the most incredible moment I’ve ever had,” she said. “I don’t think anything will come close to that moment of seeing her ring that bell.”
It isn’t a journey they would wish on anyone. But through the battle, they gained family.
Part of that family is Claire’s Army. Claire Ratliff lost her battle with cancer at the Hemby Children’s Hospital at just two years old.
But her light still shines on, her mother, Emily Ratliff, said. Claire’s family launched the non-profit Claire’s Army to support families like McAdoo’s with meals, mortgage payments, rent and utilities.
Their goal is to honor Claire’s legacy.
“She was very much worried about others, and she was unconditional with how she loved,” Emily Ratliff said.
And to mirror the support that was given to them by medical staff, friends and family, Emily said.
“Despite the really uncomfortable and scary place we were living and what we were going through, we never felt alone, and we felt so... we felt safe here,” she said.
Clark said the support provided was an immense help.
“They’re family to us,” she said.” They took this huge burden off my shoulders and allowed me to be there with Jillian."
As they celebrate McAdoo’s survivor status, the duo said they are looking forward with gratitude.
“There’s always hope,” she said.
Claire’s Army will be hosting its yearly fundraiser in August. To learn more, visit its website.
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