MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Brooke Beltran is an 11-year-old in McAllen who recently beat cancer.
Beltran recently rang the bell at the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children’s Cancer and Hematology Clinic in McAllen.
Beltran is celebrating the end of her chemotherapy treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Beltran was diagnosed with A.L.L. in 2020 and immediately began treatment. After two long years of chemotherapy, she is finally able to go back and enjoy her childhood.
“We didn’t have any experience with cancer,” Beltran’s mom. Melissa Beltran told ValleyCentral. “Knowing that it was going to be her who was going to be feeling all of the effects of the chemo and, you know, losing her hair and losing a lot of her childhood at least for a while that was really difficult for us.”
A big struggle for the family was learning and understanding the illness while navigating the best treatment options for Brooke.
“You know, there are so many different cancers out there,” Beltran’s dad, Joseph Beltran said. “So they tell you, your child has cancer, but this is cancer that you know she has, okay. So then you have to learn what that means, you know, what does that mean in terms of the sickness? What does that mean in terms of treatment?”
Brooke is excited to continue doing all the things she loves doing – taking piano and Spanish lessons through her homeschool co-op, riding her bike, and collecting anything involving her favorite Disney character, stitch.
She will be presenting a check tonight at the ‘Friends For Hope 17Th Annual Benefit Concert’, after holding a fundraiser earlier in the year to help fund childhood cancer research and treatment.
