How 11-year-old Breanna Beat Cancer

"Growing pains" was the initial diagnosis Breanna Atwell's pediatrician gave for the 11-year-old's throbbing joints and bones, but instead it was leukemia. She was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a blood cancer.

Within hours, she was on chemotherapy. For eight months, she had chemo several times a week: pills, an IV drip, and injections into muscle tissue and spinal fluid.

Luckily, Breanna was a "rapid responder." Just two weeks into her chemotherapy, the leukemia cells had plummeted from 70 percent of her bone marrow cells to 3 percent, and by the fourth week, no cancerous cells could be found.

Breanna had to return regularly for more than two years of chemotherapy that dulled her memory and weakened her body. She had six transfusions because her platelet and red blood cell counts took a dive. She had blood clots and bloodstream infections.

Two years and three months of treatment finally came to a close last month with one last intravenous chemo, removal of the central line from Breanna's chest, and a ceremonious disposal of her leftover chemo pills. But Breanna will need to return to Children's periodically for at least 10 years, says Villavicencio: "From her growth and development to how she's doing in school and getting along with her family—we're interested in absolutely everything."