For 2023, we’re proud to select the following three families for our Tell Your Story recipients

Amanda Summers:

Amanda Summers is battling breast cancer for the third time. She was originally diagnosed in April 2013, three weeks shy of her 25th birthday. The young mother was undeterred with an attitude of “OK, I’ve got this.” And she did, persevering through chemo (and the loss of her hair), radiation and surgery.

The cancer returned eight years later and Summers again rose to the challenge with the attitude of “OK, I’ve got this.” And again she persevered, this time through a double mastectomy in January of 2022.

Then five months later, after being told it was 99.99% sure all the cancer cells had been removed, the cancer had spread to the outer lining of her lungs. And still she says “OK, I’ve got this.”

This time around, the stronger chemo has made Summers sicker, required more doctor visits and sapped her energy. It is harder to meet expenses with one income and be the best mother she can, but she is not giving up, remaining determined to see her children graduate, get married and have children of their own. She also provides encouragement to new chemo patients, explaining the process in words that are comforting and understandable.

Jamie Lee Robinson:

Jamie Lee Robinson is the mother of a 5-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with Stage 1 cervical cancer in December of 2020, resulting in an emergency hysterectomy. The cancer to spread to her hip and lung after the surgery, at which time she began treatments and was later diagnosed as Stage 4. At that time she was only given approximately a year to live.

Robinson started several types of chemo, making her very sick while trying to be a mother and work. The treatments killed the cancer on her hip, but the cancer grew in her lung and had to be surgically removed in June of 2022. She was told at that time the surgery was a success and there was no more cancer in her body.

However, a tumor formed on Robinson’s right breast and ruptured. She found a surgeon who agreed to conduct a surgery, but wanted to shrink the tumor with radiation first. While enduring the radiation, she learned the cancer on her hip had returned and she lost the ability to walk without assistance from a walker or cane. She started back on chemo, only to find out it wasn’t working and the cancer had spread across her chest wall into her ribs and lungs, pectoral muscles and lymph nodes, as well as three more cancerous tumors had formed in her pelvic area.

Due to the amount of cancer in her body, Robinson has just one more attempt at chemo, which she is attempting due to not wanting to ever give up, despite being given six months to a year to live and offered the option of hospice.

Robinson said she will never give up and is attempting other treatments not covered by Medicaid. Her insurance is also denying a home health aide and she is relying on family and friends to help care for her. She is trying to live as a single mom in her own apartment, but she is currently living off disability because she cannot work.

Chase Scott:

Chase Scott is a 16-year-old West Branch student who was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a very aggressive form of cancer, in November of 2022. He was immediately hospitalized and began a long and grueling treatment. His current treatment plan is predicted to last two and a half years, but it will be a life-long battle for him and his family.

Thus far, Chase had had to endure routine lab work and lumbar punctures (spinal taps), blood clots in his legs and lungs, sores in his mouth and throat, weight loss, loss of appetite, fatigue and multiple trips to the emergency room at Akron Children’s Hospital. He is currently in a treatment phase of intense chemo, with the possibility of increase radiation in the future.

Chase is the oldest son of Ramon and Brittney Scott and has two siblings with their own needs. An avid dirt bike rider, he was employed at Zep’s Pizza in Sebring before his diagnosis and had started his own “small business” of mowing lawns in the Sebring area. His mother is employed at Dunham’s Sports in Alliance, but has had her position put on hold so she can care for Chase, resulting in the loss of two of the home’s three incomes.