The Padillas are a prime example of how one cancer diagnosis changes everything for the whole family.  Gionni hadn’t quite turned four when his parents learned of the fight he would have ahead of him.  Facing standard-risk leukemia, he needed 6 months of intense chemotherapy treatments. The impact spread across the family, stressing his parents and putting a strain on his siblings.  Gionni’s father, Luis, continued to work and watch the other children while his mother, Cassandra, stayed with him at Children’s Hospital.  

While Gionni has been cancer free since late 2016, the financial burden of treatments and hospital stays lingered for the Padillas.  Many family activities were out of the question, with Luis and Cassandra overwhelmed by medical bills.  A grant from Children’s Cancer Family Foundation allowed the family to pay off some expenses to help get their lives back to normal. Gionni will require pills for another five months, but he and his family are already planning the party celebrating the end of his treatment.