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September 30, 2026

Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month: Showing Up for Silas

Meet Silas

Silas is four years old. He loves going to school, swimming, playing sports, and spending time with the people he loves. At Doodle Bugs!, his teachers and friends know his smile, his personality, and the happiness he brings to the people around him. “Sweet, courageous, and resilient are words the staff would use to describe him,” shared Kelsey, his Center Director.

Those last two words have taken on even more meaning over the past year and a half.

Shortly after his third birthday in March 2025, Silas was diagnosed with ependymoma, a rare type of brain cancer. Since then, he has been through surgery, radiation, and many trips to doctors and hospitals. During his first surgery, Silas experienced a stroke that affected many of the skills he had already developed. In April 2026, his family learned that his cancer had returned in new areas of his brain.

But Silas’s story is about so much more than the difficult moments.

Within months of his stroke, he relearned how to swallow, talk, and walk. More recently, after completing radiation to his brain and spine, he was ready for something much more familiar to a four-year-old: a trip to the zoo or aquarium. Today, Silas continues to work on his strength and balance.

His diagnosis is part of his life, but it doesn’t tell you everything about who he is.

A Community in Silas’s Corner

Throughout Silas’s treatment, Doodle Bugs! has remained a familiar place for him to return to. Each time he came back to school, he was welcomed by teachers who knew his story and friends who were happy to see him. For his family, being surrounded by people who know and care about Silas has brought a comfort his mom says is hard to put into words.
This September, that circle of support grew even wider.

For two days, Doodle Bugs! centers filled with gold and yellow as children, teachers and families came together for Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. It was a simple gesture with a meaningful message for Silas and his family: you have a whole community in your corner.

Why Awareness Matters

For Silas’s family, Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month is a chance to help others understand why continued research and treatment options matter, especially for children with rare cancers like ependymoma. It’s also a chance to shed light on what life with pediatric cancer can look like for an entire family.

“It doesn’t end after remission, or ‘no evidence of disease,’” his mom shared. Even after treatment, families may be navigating its lasting effects alongside ongoing monitoring, medications and health limitations.

And, as she explained, “It truly impacts every aspect of your life.”

For their family, that has meant decisions about time away from work, time spent apart from Silas’s sister, childcare, school, finances, and more. Both children have spent more time than most in hospitals, waiting rooms, on the road, and in hotels because of treatment – experiences that have somehow become a “normal” part of their childhood.

Through all of it, the people around them have become essential.

“Your village of support becomes something you can’t function without,” his mom said, describing the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who step in when the family needs to get to an appointment or leave town unexpectedly for a consultation.

Support Beyond September

This month, our gold and yellow days gave the Doodle Bugs! community a way to show up for Silas. A couple of our centers also collected donations for children receiving treatment at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, extending that care beyond our own community.

The colors may be gone from our centers, but the reason behind them doesn’t end with September. By continuing to talk about pediatric cancer and share stories like Silas’s, we can help others better understand its impact – and why awareness, research, and continued support matter.

For Silas and his family, having a village they can count on has made a difference through some of their most difficult moments. We’re proud that his Doodle Bugs! family can be one small part of that village.

And Silas, we’re especially proud to have you as part of ours.