When Scarlett Phillips, a sophomore at LSU’s University Laboratory School, first felt a pain in her knee last fall, she thought it was from cheerleading practice.
“I just kept thinking I was being dramatic,” she says. “I wanted to push through for my team.”
Her coach of eight years, Millie Brown, saw something different. “She looked at me and said, ‘Scarlett, this isn’t normal. You need to get an MRI.’”
That scan changed everything.
Just after Christmas last year, Scarlett learned she had osteosarcoma — a rare bone cancer in her right knee.
“I started chemo mid-January,” Scarlett says. “Everything happened really fast.”
She began chemotherapy under the care of Jeff Deyo, MD, PhD, pediatric hematology and oncology, at St. Jude Affiliate Clinic at FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.
“Sixteen of my 18 treatments were inpatient,” Scarlett says. The family lived at the hospital more than home for 10 months. “I came in on Thursdays and stayed until Monday or Tuesday, so I really got to know the nurses and staff. They became like family.”
In April, she underwent intensive knee replacement surgery to remove the tumor.
“Dr. (Shaun) Accardo did a fabulous job,” says Jessica, Scarlett’s mom. “He told her from the start, ‘This will be a long road,’ and he was honest about what to expect.”
For eight weeks after surgery, Scarlett’s leg stayed completely straight in a brace while she healed.
“It was hard not being able to move it,” she says. “But when I finally started bending it, even just a little, I realized how far I’d come.”
Faith and Family Through It All
Scarlett’s faith has been her steady strength.
“God’s presence has been such a big part of this,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without Him.”
She’s even shared that faith with other teens facing cancer — some as far away as Australia and New Jersey — through social media connections and yellow-ribbon friendship groups.
Her family — mom Jessica, dad Bart, sister Annslee, brothers Barton and Stone, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins — and her best friends have been by her side through every step.
“We love Our Lady of the Lake,” Jessica says. “The nurses have become family to us. They’ve cared for Scarlett like their own.”
Team Scarlett
At U-High, Scarlett’s classmates and coaches found countless ways to show their support. The cheer team wore her initials on their bows at nationals and carried a picture of Scarlett with them to Disney during the competition.
At the school’s Blackout football game, players and fans wore Team Scarlett wristbands — even getting special permission from the school’s director to make them part of the uniform.
When Scarlett couldn’t make it to homecoming, the sophomore football players brought homecoming to her, delivering her flowers.
And when Scarlett left the hospital after her final chemo, billboards around Baton Rouge celebrated her milestone. Nearly 100 people were at the hospital to greet Scarlett as she walked out of the hospital doors.
Younger brother Stone, a freshman trombone player in the U-High band, organized the band to play as she left her last chemo treatment.
“It felt amazing,” she says. “Seeing my friends, my team, everyone cheering — I feel so loved.” The school also celebrated her first day back at school, welcoming her to her bright future as a Cub.
What’s Next
Now 16, Scarlett has full range of motion in her new knee, about 90 degrees, and a lot to look forward to. She recently celebrated her sweet 16 and, this fall, earned her driver’s license clearance.
“I’m figuring out what’s next,” she says.
Her spirit and her sense of humor are unmistakable. When she shaved her head before treatment, it wasn’t a sad moment.
“It was actually kind of fun,” she says.
A Hero Worth Cheering For
On November 15, Scarlett will be recognized as one of Our Lady of the Lake’s Geaux Heroes during the LSU Football game against Arkansas, a celebration of her strength, her spirit and the care teams who cheered her on every step of the way.
From the third floor of our Children’s Hospital to the stands at U-High and LSU, Scarlett’s story has inspired her care team, classmates and everyone around her.
“I’ve learned that the whole point is that I don’t have to be strong because the Lord is strong for me, and faith is what has guided me,” Scarlett says.
If you would like to support the inpatient pediatric hematology and oncology program at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, please click here.
