Samuel Jeffers Childhood Cancer Foundation

Cooking up a cure for childhood cancer

Sam’s Story

Samuel Jeffers was a special little boy. Variously described as “Mr. Personality”, a “real charmer” and “quite a character,” he had a knack for engaging adults and peers alike.

Sam loved food and everything about it — eating it, sure, but also cooking it. He was known for his outstanding chili, and he wanted to be a chef when he grew up.

And then he died of a brain tumor at the age of 8.

No, this is not a story with a fairytale ending — but we think it’s a story that anyone with children or grandchildren or simply a love of children should hear, because it is not an uncommon story and it can happen to any child — any family — at any moment.

Every day about 45 children are diagnosed with cancer around the country. About 1 in 5 of them will die. Over 150 thousand life-years are lost annually to this disease that knows no geographic boundaries, no socio-economic bias, and no lifestyle discrimination. In fact, the only risk factor for getting cancer as a child is—being a child.