As a competitive dancer, Lily didn’t think much of it when her left knee started hurting in late 2024. But the pain started getting worse, and she began to have trouble walking. To her family’s shock, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. She immediately began treatment at Phoenix Children’s.
Lily’s life changed overnight as dance competitions were replaced with hospital stays. She could no longer go to school or hang out with her friends.
Not surprisingly, all of this took a huge toll on Lily, who was 11 at the time. But when a music therapist came to her hospital room one day, everything changed.
“Jules started playing her guitar, and Lily just came to life,” says Lily’s mom, Deanne. “She was smiling and having fun and singing along with her.”
Music therapy, which is made possible by support from generous donors, quickly became an essential part of Lily’s care, bringing moments of joy to a dark time. Lily also found comfort in talking to Dr. Lindsay Anderson, a psychologist in the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders whose position is funded through philanthropy.
“Whenever I was feeling down about treatment, Dr. Anderson would talk to me. Even if I didn’t feel like talking, she would just sit with me,” Lily says.
Toward the end of her treatment, Lily, accompanied by Jules on the guitar, gave a performance of the song “A Million Dreams,” from the movie “The Greatest Showman,” for the staff on her floor.
“It was just so powerful and so wonderful,” Deanne says. “I will never forget it. It was such a beautiful, perfect moment.”
Lily has completed treatment and is now in remission. She’s returned to school with her friends and is back at the dance studio with a new ambition: to someday become a Broadway performer.
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