Brave Little Cancer Warrior
- 17-month-old “Little” Jocelyn Ducharme is currently battling brain cancer for the second time; her family has created a TikTok page titled “Team Jocelyn” which has over one million followers.
- In one of the videos, Jocelyn’s mother shaved her daughter’s head to prepare for hair loss while going through chemotherapy; other TikTok users shaved their own heads in solidarity.
- Brain tumors are one of the most common types of cancers affecting children.
Jocelyn is currently battling brain cancer for the second time; she’s going through chemotherapy, surgeries, and radiation over the last year alone. This little girl may be facing one of the toughest challenges of her life, but her bravery has impacted millions of people. Her family created a TikTok page called “Team Jocelyn” to share updates on this brave little girl, and currently have over a million followers. These videos are always guaranteed to bring a smile to our faces.
Read More@team_jocelyn#duet with @tony.larocco To ANYONE doing this, we see you and we love you! â™¥ï¸ Thank you everyone ðŸ˜ðŸŽ—â™¥ï¸ #childhoodcancerawareness #teamjocelyn♬ Iris – Natalie Taylor
@team_jocelynJocelyn would listen to this song on repeat ALL day if she could. Maui is her favorite right now ♥ï¸ðŸŒº #teamjocelyn #moana #cancerfighter♬ original sound – Katelynn Ducharme
Standing in Solidarity
Hair-loss is an inevitable side-effect of chemo treatments, so to prepare, Jocelyn’s mother shared a video of her shaving her daughter’s head. This video clearly touched many people, because to stand in solidarity with Jocelyn, TikTok users started sharing videos of them saving their own heads and captioning it #TeamJocelyn. It’s truly a beautiful gesture in honor of this special little girl.
Childhood Cancer: Explained
Talking about cancer is never easy, but when it’s your child going through a cancer fight, it can be even more difficult. Childhood cancers are devastating diseases which are often not talked about enough, but by sharing Jocelyn’s story, this family is raising much-needed awareness.
Over the decades, researching concerning children impacted by cancer have improved significantly, but there's still work to be done. Currently, pediatric cancer patients have a 90% survival rate, which is a very stark contrast to 50 years ago when the survival rate was just 10%. While the survival rate was increased, the number of new diagnoses annually has not decreased since 2000. This may have to do with funding. Childhood cancer research typically receives only 4% of cancer research funds compared to other types of cancers.
Certain types of cancers are more commonly found in children. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the most common childhood cancers are: Tumors on the brain and spinal cord, leukemia, neuroblastoma, wilms tumor, lymphoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, retinoblastoma, and bone cancer.
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