A local family is calling on legislators to pass a vital act as they face the unthinkable.
Each year, an estimated 15,780 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Former Locust Grove resident Joshua Quintern is one of those children. In February, then 7-year-old Joshua, the oldest of four children, had an illness that wouldn’t go away. Mom Chelsea Quintern said he had weeks of persistent vomiting with no clear explanation, followed by the appearance of unexplained bruises.Â
“At that point, my thoughts went to leukemia and soon after, doctors confirmed that diagnosis,” she said. “Hearing those words is something no parent is ever prepared for. The ground falls out from under you and yet you are immediately expected to act, decide and fight for your child.”
And that’s what she and her husband, Jason, have done. Joshua has Burkitt’s Leukemia, which Chelsea describes as the most aggressive cancer known to man. Technically a lymphoma, Joshua’s was upgraded due to nearly 100% of his bone marrow being infiltrated with cancer.
“It moves at a frightening pace and requires immediate and intense treatment,” Chelsea said.
Joshua underwent aggressive chemotherapy and surgery related to tumor involvement in his abdomen. At that point, Chelsea said it was determined that he had a 20% chance of survival. He then completed immunotherapy, the first pediatric patient to use the protocol, and achieved remission.
Unfortunately, the cancer mutated and returned. Joshua then underwent a stronger chemotherapy which Chelsea said left him septic with concerns about if his bone marrow would recover. Remarkably, it did after he began CAR T-cell therapy.
A form of immunotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy engineers a patient’s own immune T-cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. The first CAR T-cell therapy was approved by the FDA in 2017 to treat children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and has since been used in the treatment of both children and adults with blood cancers. National Cancer Institutes’ James Kochenderfer, M.D. said the therapy created treatment options for patients who were virtually untreatable.
Chelsea said Joshua’s response to the treatment has been extraordinary.
“He is currently stable, meaning his cancer is not progressing,” she said. “For Burkitt’s, this is a rare and meaningful win.”
There are plans for a bone marrow transplant when Joshua is able to achieve a durable remission.
“Transplant remains an important option for children with high risk or relapsed disease, but reaching that point depends on access to the right therapies at the right time,” Chelsea said.
That’s where the Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 comes in. Introduced by Texas Congressman Michael McCaul alongside 10 other representatives, the act aims to remove barriers in pediatric drug development and speed therapies to children who need them by incentivizing pediatric research and making needed changes to pediatric drug laws. The act includes provisions from four bills that were previously cut–the Give Kids a Chance Act, the Creating Hope Reauthorization Act, the Innovation in Pediatric Drugs Act and the RARE Act. According to Children’s Cancer Cause, the first allows researchers to study combinations of new cancer drugs which could unlock new cures for kids while the second incentivizes pediatric research by expanding the FDA priority review voucher program. Funding for the program expired at the end of 2024 and this act would reauthorize it until 2029. The Innovation in Pediatric Drugs Act ensures pediatric studies for possible new treatments are completed on-time while the RARE Act ensures pediatric drug research and development isn’t blocked from newly approved drugs that don’t impact pediatric populations.
The Give Kids a Chance Act 2025 was passed by the House Dec. 1 and renamed the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act. Naylon was a Colorado teen who advocated for children’s access to cancer treatment. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2020 at the age of 10 after which time she traveled the country pursuing treatment and advocating for children with cancer. She passed away Oct. 29.
“As a founder of the childhood cancer caucus, I’ve met with countless cancer patients and advocates who have asked me for one thing: to give kids their best chance of beating cancer,” McCaul said. “The House of Representatives shined a beacon of hope for those children and their families by unanimously passing the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids A Chance Act. Mikaela represents all the children who have advocated for this bill and suffered with this heartbreaking disease. Losing some of these kids has been the hardest part of my career, but today, I’m encouraged because I know Mikaela’s legacy — and all of their legacies — will live on in this bill forever and help save countless lives.”
More than 300 Representatives signed on as cosponsors of the bill including eight from Virginia. Among them was 7th District Representative Eugene Vindman.
Now it’s up to the Senate to act.
“Children with cancer are often excluded from early access to promising treatments because of outdated regulatory barriers,” Chelsea said. “This bill would help ensure that children are not left waiting while time works against them. For kids like Joshua, earlier access to innovative therapies can mean the difference between having options and running out of them.”
“Childhood cancer research is dramatically underfunded,” she added “While this legislation is not a cure all, it is a critical step toward expanding research, modernizing clinical trials, and encouraging the development of treatments specifically for kids.”
Chelsea encourages folks to contact their senators and urge them to support the passage of the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act.
“What I want people to understand is this: pediatric cancer does not wait and neither should we,” she said. “Our children deserve urgency, innovation and hope.”
Chelsea said Joshua continues to fight with a strength and resilience that humbles those around him. She shares updates on his journey via social media and the family’s GoFundMe page, https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-joshuas-fight-against-lymphoma. She said sharing stories like Joshua’s and advocating for pediatric cancer research makes a difference.
“Support comes in many forms, including prayer, advocacy, sharing our story and helping families like ours navigate the overwhelming realities of childhood cancer,” Chelsea said.
The Children’s Cancer Cause offers sample language to use when contacting legislators as well as an online contact form. Contact information for individual senators is available online at https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm.
