My name is Jennifer, and I am a childhood cancer survivor who has been impacted by the national drug shortage. Rhabdomyosarcoma became a common word in my family when I was three years old. By the time of diagnosis, the cancer had metastasized from the middle ear into the mastoid and eustachian tube. The oncology team told my parents there was less than a three percent chance for me to live out the year. There was no definitive treatment protocol to defeat this rare form of cancer, and the survival rate was extremely low. Over the next two and a half years, I underwent surgeries, full head and neck radiation, and a four-drug chemotherapy cocktail. Just before my sixth birthday, I became one of the rare survivors and entered remission.

Gavin started showing symptoms early on in life. Years of seeing specialists and countless tests and imaging only led to more questions. Our local team applied to the Undiagnosed Disease Network, and Gavin was soon accepted. During our stay at Duke University Hospital, a genetic test revealed a tiny mutation on the NLRP3 gene that was causing uncontrolled systemic inflammation.