Leah Still Is Officially Cancer-Free

Cincinnati Bengal’s Devon Still announced yesterday that his daughter Leah Still is officially cancer-free. This comes after last week’s test results, which did not find any active disease in her body. But the defensive lineman was still awaiting MRI and bone biopsy results before fully celebrating.

June 2, 2014 and March 25, 2015 are days I will remember for the rest of my life. As everyone probably knows, June 2nd was the day doctors walked into the waiting room to tell me my daughter had cancer. It was the most devastating day of my life. March 25th , however, is feeling like the best day of my life. Today we received news from Leah’s oncologist that her cancer, stage four neuroblastoma, is officially in REMISSION! After 296 days of day dreaming about what it would feel like to hear the doctors say my daughter is in remission, I finally know the feeling. Funny thing is there is really no way of describing it because I never knew this feeling existed. When I look at my daughter all I can do is smile and hug her. It was not easy but every day, and every treatment Leah fought like hell and kicked cancers butt! I’m so proud and blessed to call her my daughter. She has made an impact on me and on the world, at the age of four, that I can only wish to make in a lifetime. Thank you to my family and friends for the support through all those tough days. Thank you to everyone who has sent a letter to give Leah and our family motivation to keep fighting, a toy that helped Leah get through her days in the hospital, and more importantly a prayer that helped God hear our cries for healing. Thank you to the doctors at CHOP for putting together the best plan of action for my daughter. Thank you to Child Life members Sarah, Laura, and Lindsey for really turning what could be a scary place into a place where Leah would enjoy going because she knew she would have fun with you guys. Thank you to the Bengals for taking on my situation and standing by me and my family and for helping to raise money to fight pediatric cancer. To every media outlet and persons that helped raise much needed awareness, thank you. Leah is not done with treatments yet. She still needs more to make sure the cancer cells do not return and to build back up her immune system and other damage from the chemo but I know my little warrior will get through it! #FistBump #LeahStrong #BeatCancer #TheFightAgainstChildhoodCancerIsFarFromOver #ThrowingTheBiggestKidPartyEver #WaitForIt

A photo posted by Devon Still (@man_of_still75) on Mar 25, 2015 at 1:29pm PDT

In the athlete’s tearful caption, he described two specific dates as days he will forever remember. “June 2, 2014 and March 25, 2015 are days I will remember for the rest of my life,” Devon wrote. “As everyone probably knows, June 2nd was the day doctors walked into the waiting room to tell me my daughter had cancer. It was the most devastating day of my life. March 25th , however, is feeling like the best day of my life. Today we received news from Leah’s oncologist that her cancer, stage four neuroblastoma, is officially in REMISSION!”

This is a great end to heartfelt story, which showed good people doing good things for a child in need. Leah’s story shined a light on a father who loves his daughter and a team that stuck behind their player.

After finding out about Leah’s cancer, Devon was distraught and not ready to go back to the game. So the Bengals had to cut him, but quickly signed him to the practice squad so he would get all of their health benefits. On top of this, they sold his jersey in the team’s store and all the proceeds went to the Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center Hospital — the team raised about $1.25 million in total.

But most importantly, this is a great day for Leah, who through all the struggles became the face for this horrific disease. She had a 50-50 chance of survival and as Devon stated, “kicked cancer’s butt.” On top of this, she took the role of spokesperson so well for such a young girl, showing that she is certainly mature for her age.

Now, the endeavor is not over. “She still needs more to make sure the cancer cells do not return and to build back up her immune system and other damage from the chemo but I know my little warrior will get through it,” Devon wrote. But the cancer-free news is probably the best thing you will hear all day.

Article by Anthony Falco