The Janecek family has seen more than its fair share of cancer.

Ellie, now age 10, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma — a type of eye cancer — when she was just 7 months old. Her little brother, Levi, now age 9, was diagnosed with stage IV rhabdomyosarcoma — a type of soft tissue cancer — a few months before he turned 3.

“I couldn’t even acknowledge what the doctor was saying,” recalls their father, Matt, of Levi’s diagnosis. “After looking up the odds of two children in the same family having cancer, I didn’t think it was real.”

“I was in total shock,” adds his wife, Jenny. “I remember one of the oncologists telling me gently, ‘Enjoy every good day you have with him.’ That was one of the hardest things you can hear as parent. It makes you realize just how serious this is, and that your child might not be here much longer.”

Both children were treated successfully by teams of doctors from Texas Children’s Hospital and UT MD Anderson, who worked together to plan and deliver their care. Ellie received chemotherapy, while Levi received both chemotherapy and proton therapy.

“Both kids are doing fine now and show no evidence of disease,” notes Jenny. “Ellie actually has 20/20 vision in both eyes and is back to playing basketball. And Levi was just cleared to play football, despite being told initially that he’d likely never play contact sports again. That’s a real testament to the caliber of treatment our kids received.”

When UT MD Anderson and Texas Children’s announced the joint creation of the Kinder Children’s Cancer Center last spring, the Janeceks were ecstatic.

“I was so happy, especially for the parents of newly diagnosed children,” recalls Jenny. “Those hospitals work really well together, but traveling between them is sometimes hard. So, this will be an amazing resource — both because of how much easier it will be on families and the wealth of knowledge available between them.”

“Living so close to two medical powerhouses, it was really hard to choose,” adds Matt. “Now, parents won’t have to.”