Father Honors Son’s Legacy Through Nonprofit Helping Kids With Cancer
Father Honors Son’s Legacy Through Nonprofit Helping Kids With Cancer
VASSAR, Mich. - When Josh Doud’s 7-year-old son, Jameson, was diagnosed with brain cancer, life changed in an instant. What began as a few unexplained symptoms turned into a fight that would forever shape his family’s mission to help others facing the same devastating journey.
“Jameson was an amazing kid. He still is. He’s still doing a lot for a lot of people,” Doud said in an interview. “He was the strongest kid ever through that whole process.”
Click here to learn more about the Jameson Strong non-profit and how you can help.
Doud said his son’s illness began suddenly last year when Jameson started getting sick and showing signs of confusion. A CT scan revealed a tumor the size of an adult’s fist. After emergency brain surgery at a children’s hospital, the family briefly celebrated good news when doctors said scans were clear. But months later, new pain revealed bone cancer in Jameson’s arm. By June, cancer had spread throughout his brain and spine.
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Doctors gave him weeks to live. Jameson passed away Aug. 12, leaving behind his parents and two younger siblings.
Despite his illness, Doud said his son’s compassion for others never wavered. “He never wanted to tell us his pain. It was always about other people,” he said. “He cared so much.”
That spirit of giving inspired the creation of Jameson Strong, a nonprofit named in his memory. The organization sends care packages to children battling cancer across the country, each box filled with items the Doud family found comforting during their own fight.
Click here to learn more about the Jameson Strong non-profit and how you can help.
“I asked him if he wanted to start a nonprofit to help other kids going through cancer,” Doud said. “He wanted to send care packages out to other kids with cancer. So that’s what we do.”
Since officially launching Aug. 5, Jameson Strong has already shipped more than 40 packages nationwide, including one to Canada, and organized donation drives for toys, blankets and art supplies for patients at University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
The nonprofit also runs a toy drive each October in honor of Jameson’s birthday, delivering gifts to children on the hospital’s cancer floor.
Faith and community support have helped the Doud family endure. “Honestly, it was our faith that got us through,” Doud said. “The whole community around us has been very supportive. If you drive through Vassar or Richville, you’ll still see Jameson Strong signs everywhere.”
Doud hopes more awareness and research funding will go toward pediatric cancer. Currently, only about 4 percent of the National Cancer Institute’s budget is directed toward childhood cancers.
“There just isn’t enough treatment out there for children,” he said. “It shouldn’t be about making people rich. It should be about saving children.”
Jameson’s short life continues to make a lasting impact through every package and every child helped.
“Enjoy your kids when they’re around,” Doud said. “Play every chance you get. Take those pictures. You never know when life will change.”