At age 16, Tessa Joy Davis was a star on her high school water polo team and a shining light in the lives of her family and friends. In December 2013, she told her mother, Letitia, about a pain in her chest and the next day an x-ray revealed a mass between Tessa’s lungs. Then a lung biopsy led to the diagnosis of a rare form of lung cancer never before recorded in a patient under age 35. The following year was a roller coaster of chemotherapy, hospital stays and a search for answers. “I sent Tessa’s records to experts across the U.S. and in Mexico and Colombia,” said Letitia, “and at one point her tumor was nearly gone.” Tessa insisted on going back to school and when her water polo team traveled to Croatia, Tessa went too, even though she couldn’t play. But she left early to find that the cancer had returned to her bones and liver, and by early January, it had metastasized into her brain and her liver was failing. On January 7, 2015, Tessa died in the ICU, two days before her 18th birthday. “I won’t hesitate to donate Tessa’s medical records to Our Breadcrumbs,” said Letitia. “As a parent, your biggest fear is that your child will be forgotten, and I know Tessa would want her records to help others.”
“Cancer has touched everyone’s life in some way. I know Tessa would want her health records to help other families to find answers and to help in the search for a cure.”
–Letitia Davis, Mother of the late Tessa Joy Davis