“You know, cancer is actually really fun if you don’t have to take all the medicine.”
When eight-year-old Mia Lee said these words to her mom, Nar, earlier this year, it caught Nar off guard. These are words you don’t expect to hear from anyone, let alone a child who was two-and-a-half years into their own cancer journey at the time. But when Mia said these words, Nar knew exactly what she meant: Cancer gave Mia a team that made the bad parts of the disease feel a little bit better. “She’s not able to differentiate between the two, all she knows is she has all these amazing memories and opportunities that overshadowed the bad memories,” Nar said, “so now when she thinks of her cancer journey, she thinks of her team. She thinks having cancer is kind of fun except for the medicine and hospital part. It’s amazing that she is able to walk away from two plus years of complete torture with such a positive mindset.”
Mia was only four years old when Nar got a call from her preschool saying something about Mia seemed off. They asked if there had been any changes at home, any deaths in the family, anything that could explain this sudden change in behavior. But nothing had changed, so Nar took Mia to the doctor. A pediatric fellow decided to do a finger prick, something that is not standard protocol, and when the pediatrician came into the room and encouraged Nar to take Mia to the ER at Boston Children’s, Nar knew something was very wrong. Mia was immediately admitted, and tests revealed low hemoglobin, low platelets, and blood that was nearly 70% leukemia cells. Mia had cancer.
The Lees jumped into action and immediately began Mia’s treatment journey at the Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber’s Jimmy Fund Clinic. In addition to being lengthy, Mia’s treatment was also difficult. She was allergic to one of the chemotherapy drugs, so instead of receiving the drug once every three weeks like a typical treatment, Mia received intramuscular injections three times a week, totaling 90 shots during her 30-week treatment period. After each injection, she had to be monitored for an hour to make sure there were no adverse side affects. Mia’s treatments left her feeling uncomfortable, painful, and “just generally crappy,” Nar recalled.
It was during one of Mia’s treatments that Nar found a flyer for Team IMPACT in the Jimmy Fund Clinic waiting room. Mia had just turned five and was asking to play sports like her older siblings, Hannah and Aiden. Knowing she wasn’t able at this point in her journey, Nar was looking for other ways for her daughter to be involved, and Team IMPACT seemed like the perfect solution. “I thought, this is something she can do,” Nar recalled. “I was worried, like, what can we actually do because she was so sick, but I signed up because I thought, what’s the worst that can happen? I’m glad I took that route and didn’t wait.”
In December of 2021, Mia was matched with the Tufts University field hockey team. In the midst of her treatment, even on her worst days, the Jumbos were there in exactly the way Mia and her family needed them to be. Earlier this year, Nar was talking to a family who was unsure if Team IMPACT was a good fit for them because their child was limited during treatment. “It was exactly the same thing for us at the beginning,” Nar said. “We only saw the team a handful of times the first year because between their schedule and how Mia was feeling we just really couldn’t be in person. But they’d send videos, they’d send pictures, we’d send pictures, and it really becomes how available your child is. The team is here for you, here as an outlet, here as a resource whenever your child is available and comfortable, and you kind of go at your own pace. That’s exactly what happened to us. The first year, she was still frontline not feeling good, and the second she started feeling good we started going to more things.”
One of the first things Mia and her teammates wanted to do when she started feeling good was have an official Signing Day. In February of 2023, more than a year into Mia’s time with the team and the same week she finished her last intramuscular chemo shot, the Jumbos excitedly welcomed Mia to campus, gave speeches about what she means to the team, and had her finally sign her paperwork to become a Jumbo. Though Mia was already forever bonded with her coaches and teammates, her Signing Day made her feel powerful and special. It was a testament to just how far she had come. “To see them being so understanding and accessible and to see Mia round up all the energy she can to hang out with them for an hour because that’s how much they mean to her is amazing,” Nar said. “They have a very special relationship.”
Later that spring, Mia finished her cancer treatments two days before her seventh birthday. There is a tradition in Mia’s class that whenever it is someone’s birthday, a mystery reader is invited to go into the classroom to share a story and celebrate the birthday girl! Mia’s coach, Tina Mattera, and one of the team captains surprised her as mystery readers, reading the book “Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn” and playing field hockey with Mia and her classmates, who were in awe that Mia got to hang out with these cool college girls. That day sticks out as an all-time favorite for both Mia and Nar. “They go above and beyond—like way above and beyond—what you could ever imagine someone would do for your child,” Nar said.
Nar says this support from the team has opened new doors and exposed new opportunities she doesn’t think Mia would have taken before meeting the Jumbos. “This built a base for her to be like, ‘I want to try things, I want to do things, I want to see what’s out there,’” Nar said. “She’s gained confidence and almost like a worldly view. She’s open to things that kids her age often wouldn’t be.” As soon as Mia finished chemo, got her port removed, and was cleared to play sports, she jumped right into everything she could. She joined softball, basketball, field hockey, and flag football teams of her own. “She is more confident, and I truly believe that’s because of her involvement in Team IMPACT with the Tufts girls. She’s bursting to try everything because her eyes were opened,” Nar said. “The girls took her to a basketball game, they saw a baseball game, they hung out with the hockey players and the football players. She was exposed to all these things during her treatment. Even though she couldn’t do them, it made her aware that there’s so much more out there, and she’s just open to doing everything. I truly think that’s because of her involvement in Team IMPACT and the Jumbos. I can’t imagine how she would have gotten that any other way.”
Similarly, Nar can’t imagine where Mia and her entire family would be if not for Team IMPACT. Mia and her older sister Hannah love any opportunity to hang out with the girls. They love getting ice cream together, sipping on boba, and walking around town together. Nar has found new friendships in other Team IMPACT families, connecting immediately with people who understand what her family is going through because they’re living it too. “I feel like Team IMPACT and the Jumbos have been with us through Mia’s treatment, and I don’t know what we would be like without it,” she said. “I mean, a lot less fun memories. Her thinking cancer isn’t that bad probably wouldn’t be there. I don’t even know, but I’m glad we found Team IMPACT.”
Since joining Team IMPACT, the Lees have found so much more than they bargained for. They found confidence, community, and fun. They found a team Mia will be part of forever. “Being a part of the Team IMPACT family has exceeded our expectations in every way,” Nar said. “It is undoubtedly one of the best decisions I made and has brought so much strength and joy to our family during some of the toughest years.”
The one word Nar uses to sum up her family’s experience in the program: transformative. Participating in Team IMPACT and being matched with the Jumbos transformed Mia into a more confident child who is always up for trying something new and who discovered a new love of team sports. A child who fearlessly dives headfirst into every opportunity. A child who looks back on her cancer journey as “fun” because it brought her the Jumbos.
“This is just the most amazing experience. I hope that every single family with a child with a diagnosis that qualifies get to experience it,” Nar said. “It’s just good all around. Good for the child, for the family, for the team, for the coaches. It’s such a unique opportunity that literally helps everyone involved. There’s no downside to Team IMPACT. I just hope every kid and family and team out there get to experience what we’ve gotten to experience.”
