Ashton Hawkins
Ashton’s story begins with her. A beautiful, loving, selfless girl who truly has the biggest heart and always puts others before herself.
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Ever since she was born, Ashton has been such a light in her family's life, with the most contagious giggle. Her love of life, for her sisters, helping others, and being so giving are just some of the things that make Ashton so special.
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Ashton’s cancer story didn’t start with a brain scan but instead weeks before her brain cancer was discovered.
Her symptoms began with dizziness, followed by terrible headaches that left her lethargic, or at times, crying or screaming in pain.
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After consecutive weeks of headaches, Ashton's mom, Amanda, asked where exactly her head hurt, and she pointed to the lower back side of her head right above where her skull and spine meet.
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"That was the first time the ‘C’ word ran across my mind. But as we sometimes do, I told myself, 'No way, not us. This can’t be cancer.'" Ashton's mom knew that was not a normal spot for a headache. But with talking herself out of the impossible to imagine, she reasoned that this was out of the realm of possibility and that she’d keep a close eye on things.
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After cheer practice one night in August 2023, Ashton’s head started hurting so badly that she was screaming when she got home.
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It was at this point that Ashton’s mom brought her to the ER at Cincinnati Children’s Liberty, where they were sent to urgent care, and their concerns were dismissed…no scans or bloodwork were done, only an eye exam and some walking exercises. The remedy: “Have her drink Mountain Dew for the caffeine, at least she’s not throwing up.”
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A few weeks later, on Ashton’s second day of school, she got sick yet again before she was supposed to get on the bus. Amanda knew that they couldn’t wait any longer and called her husband and said, “We need to get her to the emergency room now.”
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Ashton’s doctor's office called ahead to the ER, and just two hours later, their lives were changed forever when the initial CT scan showed a 3x4cm mass in the back of her brain, right by her spinal cord.
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It was a tumor, and they immediately knew it was cancerous. No chance of being benign.
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August 22, 2023, is etched in the mind of Ashton’s family forever.
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While Amanda was at home, anxious by her phone, Kurtis called. He had the doctor on the line and before she could grasp what that truly meant, the doctor said “we found a mass.”
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Instantly tears began rolling down Amanda’s face. She fought to catch her breath. The future of their lives spun through her head.
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“It couldn’t be cancer, could it?” she kept questioning. But she knew it was now. Her intuition was right, but she’d let doubts, fears, and the doctor advise talk her out of it.
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Within 24 hours, they learned Ashton had an aggressive brain cancer and was to undergo a twelve-hour surgery in just two days.
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As you can imagine, the Hawkins family’s life was immediately upended, and they had to adjust schedules for their four girls in addition to making sure one of them was always at the hospital with Ashton.
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The two days leading up to her surgery were filled with unknowns like what would happen if she was to quickly go downhill. Would her brain swelling go down enough for surgery with the medicines in her IVs.
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On August 25, Ashton underwent an anticipated 6-hour surgery that turned into almost 12 hours. The whole day was a blur of trying to stay busy and trying not to overthink. Once she was out of surgery, they learned that doctors had gotten the entire tumor, and her family felt peace for the first time in days.
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Then came the agonizing wait that post-surgery brings to learn not only the type of cancer, but the life expectancy statistics.
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Less than a week later, when it was time to meet with the oncologist and neurosurgeon, they learned from the biopsy results that they didn’t get the whole tumor during surgery and that there was still cancer in her brain.
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Her diagnosis was Medulloblastoma, an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer. With Amanda and Kurtis, the oncologists discussed her life expectancy, the long path to recovery, and devastating news such as she will likely be infertile, could lose her hearing, have an increased risk of getting secondary cancer.
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Ashton had to relearn how to walk, talk, eat, use her hands and arms, and so much more. She worked hard, persevered and was able to come home after a month.
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The day they finally got to bring Ashton home was full of celebration. Taylor Swift was playing on the speaker outside, and we had streamers lining the inside and outside the house, a huge banner signed by everyone at her school, and posters made by friends and so many others hung up on the outside of the garage door.
Ashton’s parents said “It was the moment we’d been waiting for since she was rushed to the hospital after her CT scan revealed the tumor, and we all felt so much happiness and relief to have her home again.”
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However, all that happiness quickly diminished when, two hours after they got home, Ashton’s mom received a call from her oncologist. The MRI they’d taken earlier that day showed that more cancer had grown on the other side of where her tumor was, in a different part of her brain.
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There were discussions of treatment that would leave her impaired for the rest of her life, or another brain surgery to remove the additional cancer, and that which was left behind.
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Based on the prognosis, a second surgery became inevitable.
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“We made the most of the time we had with Ashton before her second brain surgery. We had six days, and in that time threw her the most amazing surprise birthday party which could only be described as what dreams are made of, she led the King's homecoming parade and was celebrated on the football field in front of the entire stadium before the game, and we all spent as much time together as we possibly could. We let her sisters stay home from sports and school and had her friends over as much as we could.”
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Since her second brain surgery, Ashton has completed six consecutive weeks of radiation, rang the bell, underwent a fertility treatment called ovarian tissue preservation, and has started chemo. She is preparing for her fourth round of chemo.
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Through all that she has endured. Ashton has exuded strength, bravery, and fearlessness. She never complains, insists on helping around the house even when it’s hard for her, and has such a positive attitude.
Amanda says, “She truly is a cancer warrior and the epitome of endurance and perseverance. I am in awe of how she handles every day, every new treatment, and every new symptom. I am in awe that she never complains. I am in awe that, many days, my sweet daughter is so much stronger than I am. I am in awe that is the most beautiful girl, inside and out. I am in awe of her loving and generous heart. I am in awe that my little mommy's helper, even through all that she has been through, is still the first one to help me around the house, help with her sisters, and give me the grace I often need while we all weather this storm together. And that is just who Ashton is. She's our hero, our optimist, our grateful, sweet, and amazing sister, and daughter.”
While Ashton will forever be impacted with an unsteady gate, neurological issues, mental delays, have harder time socializing and being able to do and learn as quickly as her peers she provides so much hope to her family and all those around her.
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Ashton is a true hero.
Date of Diagnosis:
August 30, 2023
Age at Diagnosis:
6 years old
Age Now:
7 years old
Type of Brain Cancer:
Medulloblastoma
Summary of Treatment:
-2 brain surgeries
-PFS
-6 weeks of radiation
-ovarian tissue preservation
-9 rounds of chemotherapy
"In a house of 5 daughters who are sisters, and best friends, my girls have an unbreakable bond. And when I truly think about it, I always wondered why God blessed us with all girls. I never pondered it a lot, but it makes sense today.
With Ashton being so isolated from the world, she has four of the best friends, supporters, and cheerleaders every little girl would dream of. They keep her busy, even more motivated, and even at such young ages, have seen how cancer has changed their sister while they themselves are trying hard to navigate their own understanding of cancer.
Nothing could change their love and fierce protection they have for her." - Amanda, Ashton's Mom
"I hope that Ashton will have a success story to give the parents who are just starting out in their journey the faith that their child will make it through and that they are so strong, no matter how they feel during this battle.
While I hold onto the hope that federal funding will change and childhood cancer treatments and funding will receive the awareness it needs, our voices seem to fall on deaf ears, and I hope one day, as a collective group, our advocacy moves mountains and eradicating childhood cancer becomes a national movement."
-Amanda, Ashton's Mom