Meet Tatum, 2025 Scholar

Thanks to a generous survivorship program grant from Hyundai Hope On Wheels, twenty-two survivors were welcomed into the 2025 Children’s Cancer Cause College Scholars Program, representing both organizations’ strong investment in survivors and belief in their bright futures.

Each of these students receive a financial scholarship to help with academic expenses, and each Scholar commits to undertaking a volunteer project of their choosing related to childhood cancer advocacy.

Tatum’s Story

“My story began just after my third birthday,” Tatum shared with us. “Over the course of a few weeks, my parents watched their energetic toddler slowly become tired, easily bruised, grow pale, and consistently run a fever.”

“Late one Sunday night, they took me to the emergency room in Abilene, Texas. After the attending doctor looked over my bloodwork, all signs pointed towards leukemia. Within hours, my mom and I were on an airplane in the middle of the night headed to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.”

Tatum was diagnosed with Pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia the next day.

After two and a half years of treatment, her family was ready to celebrate victory over her cancer — until her last routine spinal procedure.

“Two doctors came in and shattered our worlds. They shared that my leukemia had relapsed in my cerebral spinal fluid.”

“I was five years old and unable to fully comprehend what was happening to me, but seeing my parent's emotions, I knew something bad had happened.”

Tatum began a new, more aggressive protocol, filled with intense chemotherapy and cranial radiation. “And yet, some of my vivid memories during this intense time were filled with coloring pages, glitter, and art projects. Whether I was aware of it or not, art became a form of healing that helped me process those years of treatment and the trauma I was experiencing.”

She officially reached remission at age seven. Now she’s planning to study psychology at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

“Few people can truly comprehend the hard truth of pediatric cancer unless they've been there personally. But from day one, my parents helped shape my experience as something positive rather than negative. To quote something impactful my dad said, ‘If we don't share your story and help others along the way, then what was it all for?’”

Tatum’s Advocacy Project

“As a two-time cancer survivor, giving back to kids who are still in treatment is incredibly important to me,” Tatum says. “I can't wait to discover new ways to keep volunteering throughout my college experience. Being a cancer survivor has made me stronger than I'd ever imagined and I want to share that strength with others who are still in the fight.”

For her scholarship volunteer project, Tatum will launch “Pig Packs,” a campus service project of creating care packages for local cancer patients in Arkansas. She hopes to involve as many other students as possible in thoughtfully curating and collecting items for the care packages, which will include hand-crafted motivational cards for the recipients.

“I was on the receiving end many times during my hospital stays, and the care packages I was given kept me busy!” she told us. “I remember small things like coloring books, toys, games, and other fun items that helped to center me during long hospital visits. Looking back now, I can see how helpful those small gifts were and I would love to pay it forward with others.”