"About a month ago, we brought Leighton into our UCLA pediatrician for an eye infection. It ended up being a blocked tear duct that turned into a sinus infection. They did a routine blood sample and discovered she has leukemia," says Jennifer, mother of 4-year-old Leighton. "It was quite a shock. She has AML, or acute myelogenous leukemia. She will need four rounds of chemo, so we'll be [at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center] for six months." As Jennifer talks, Leighton dances around the room. "[The chemo] hasn't affected her too much so far. They say it just depends on the patient. She's just happy," says Jennifer. "Even after the first couple of days when we were in shock, we started to feel better just because everyone at UCLA is so amazing, everyone just takes really good care of us."

Tags: Cancer, cancer, featured, Leukemia, leukemia, patient stories, pediatrics