ST. CLOUD, Fla. — As a mother of three, Jennifer Elliott says she tries to make the best out of any situation. At a young age, her middle child, Jericho, was diagnosed with epilepsy — and during one of his tests, she says doctors found a cancerous brain tumor. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Jericho Elliot was diagnosed with pediatric cancer at a young age

  •  His treatment began in Oregon, and ended in Florida

  •  Certain groups can be at a higher risk for some type of cancers

Fortunately, after years of treatment and surgeries, Jericho is now in remission. But his diagnosis is part of a larger trend in Florida that is causing concern among experts.

In February of this year, the Florida Association of Pediatric Tumor Programs reported that between 1981 and 2020, new pediatric cancer diagnoses in the state increased 326% to more than 1,000 per year, outpacing pediatric population growth during the same time period by more than five times.

“I think everyone has been touched by cancer at some point in their lives,” Elliott said.

Elliot said her son's diagnosis was difficult for a multitude of reasons, including just getting to his treatment.

Elliott said her family traveled five hours one way, to get to the hospital, and with every trek, Jericho received a stuff animal for his bravery. Now he has hundreds of stuff animals reminding him of the past.

Sometimes using board games helped escape from the struggles of everyday life, Elliot said. And while the road to recovery has been long, she said her family is continuing to move forward. 

And as much as he’s like any other kid, Elliot said Jericho is dealing with something most kids don’t understand.

“(He’s) gone through a lot of adult things," she said. "I think that’s made him very aware."

As a parent, Elliot said it was important to avoid becoming trapped in the seriousness of the moment. 

“You learn to live incredibly intentionally because of this experience,” she said. “You come face-to-face with reality that person might not survive. And you have to confront mortality.”

While the bulk of Jericho’s treatment was in Oregon, his remission journey is continuing in Central Florida. 

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer affects all population groups in the U.S., but due to social, environmental, and economic disadvantages, certain groups bear a disproportionate burden of cancer compared to other groups. One of those groups is people who live in rural areas, like Elliot and her family when they lived on the West Coast.

“There wasn’t immediate access to where we were living, so we would have to go five hours,” she said. “Here it’s actually a lot closer — we only drive half hour to an hour into Orlando. That’s been really nice”.

While Jericho recovers, Elliot said people wouldn’t know about Jericho’s past by looking at him, but the pain of his diagnosis is still there.

“You don’t see our son’s scars anymore, you don’t see what we went through," Elliot said. "You don’t see the battle wounds that we took away from this, from going through this and the hurt. You don’t see it. But they are there."