St. Jude Soundbites

Many people vacation overseas, with a bucket list of top destinations around the world. Frank Griggs travels with a purpose around America, bringing his running shoes and his own version of a bucket list.

St. Jude Hero Dave Lew says he fell in love with the St. Jude Memphis Marathon since the moment he set foot in the Bluff City. Now, after nine years, he reflects on who pushed him to run in the first place and why he still continues to do so.

Lynda's support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital spans more than 30 years and touches every area of her life. And like St. Jude, she won't stop.

Yuliya Nogovitsyna, a Ukrainian mother of two, planned on celebrating her youngest daughter's birthday on February 24th before the sounds of bomb explosions roared through Kiev. But as the the program director of the Tabletochki Foundation, a Ukrainian charity devoted to supporting pediatric oncology patients, it's not just her kids she has to think about in this time of war but hundreds of others with cancer diagnoses.

As director of Herosi Foundation, a St. Jude Global partner and pediatric cancer charity in Poland, Malgorzata is now working around the clock on the complicated logistics of safely evacuating patients to clinics and hospitals in Poland and beyond. She says she is one link in a chain of goodwill, a chain that serves as a lifeline for children with cancer in war-torn Ukraine.

A global network of cancer centers is now the pathway to safety for hundreds of Ukrainian pediatric cancer patients. In this episode of St. Jude Soundbites, we hear from someone on the global team for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, who got to meet several Ukrainian patients when they arrived in Memphis.

Sue Ellen Henderson doesn’t run fast, but she does run with purpose. She’s a St. Jude Hero, entering the St. Jude Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon every year, rain or shine. Since 2011, she’s raised more than $400,000 for St. Jude. And she says she gets emotional at the start of every race. “You're changing families' and children's lives. And you don't have to raise $400,000. If you raise $500, you're making a difference.”

Rob fell in love with distance running, but wanted to find a purpose to propel him. His dad inspired him to become a St. Jude Hero, and now he's hooked on the lifesaving mission.

Through the power of radio, St. Jude Hero Anamaria Castaneda is able to spread the St. Jude mission to English- and Spanish-speaking people across Nashville. She says any audience can receive the message of St. Jude — regardless of language — because cancer is a universal problem.

St. Jude employee, Hayley Arceneaux, became the first childhood cancer survivor in space in 2021. Her favorite moment in orbit? Reconnecting with her patients back at St. Jude.