'Like a dragon': Margo Brown is resilient in the face of pediatric cancer

There are moments that can create a dividing line in one’s life.

One of the worst is receiving a diagnosis, a single word that forms a solid line: before cancer, and after.

Margo Brown, 13, was an active tween who loved digging in her backyard for scrap metal and pole vaulting.

“But you can’t have your child hurling through the air when they have a blood condition,” said Amanda Brown, Margo’s mom, in December 2025.

“One day, we were living our ordinary lives and the next, everything revolved around hospital rooms, lab numbers, and words we had never expected to learn,” she said. “There is no way to prepare for hearing the word leukemia attached to your child.”

When Margo was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in April 2025, Margo and her family found themselves on the “after” side of a pediatric cancer diagnosis.

Liliana Brown, 16, Margo’s older sister, had been reading at home when her family returned from what was originally a mundane doctor’s appointment.

“They come in, and my dad is crying,” she said. “And Margo’s crying, and mom’s crying, and I was like, ‘Doesn’t she just have Mono? Like what’s happening?’

“They told me, ‘Your sister has cancer.’ I remember just sitting there and being like, ‘Hmm … nah. Nope,’” she said, recalling her shock and disbelief. “Then they left and then I bawled my eyes out.”

Amanda Brown said the family had a lot to process. Margo’s diagnosis uprooted much of their previous way of life as they adjusted to their “new normal.”

Cancer conditions and their treatments are harsh on the body and even harder on the immune system. Margo is currently immunocompromised, meaning her immune system cannot effectively fight infections or harmful bacteria on its own. Preservatives, bacteria and certain synthetic chemicals found on produce, as well as in some meats, snacks and sweets, could pose a risk to her overall health.

“Since your immune system lives within your blood and within your bone marrow, when they treat it, it’s completely depleted,” Amanda Brown said. “There is a constant tension between wanting to keep her safe and wanting her to live fully.”

When asked what food she misses most, Margo said Nutella, without hesitation.

Together, the family decided to adjust their diet and food preparation to accommodate Margo’s restrictions and ensure a cleaner, ultra-sanitized environment. They prioritize healthy, clean foods and avoid raw fish, deli meats, leftover rice, sugar and preservatives. They also soak fresh fruits and vegetables in a cleaning agent that kills pathogens.

“We just want to give her body the best chance of fighting this,” Amanda said.

Besides Nutella, Margo said she misses attending school regularly and her high energy levels.

Weighing the risk of travel, being at school, and going places with large crowds, “all changes with someone that’s immunocompromised,” said Joe Brown, Margo’s father.

“When we get to ‘maintenance,’” the final and least intense stage of treatment, “we’re getting out of town. We’re going to Disney World,” he said. He recalled how Margo said in December that she wished she could “just do school” after they decided she needed to stay home for a couple of days before winter break due to the rising number of influenza cases.

“These things that everybody else in the world absolutely takes for granted look a little different when they are taken from you,” he said.

A ‘dragon baby’

When Amanda Brown was several months pregnant with Margo, the family had been visiting Chinatown in Chicago. She said a woman on the street stopped them to inform her that she was going to have a “dragon baby,” since it was the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese Zodiac calendar.

In Chinese culture, people born in Dragon years are believed to be naturally courageous, strong and fortunate. “Watch out,” she said the woman had told her.

In the aftermath of her daughter’s diagnosis, she said there were stretches of hospitalization, side effects from chemotherapy and long periods of isolation to protect her immune system.

Through all of it, “Margo remained herself,” Amanda Brown said. “She showed resilience, humor and an ability to advocate for herself that amazed us. Even on hard days, she found ways to connect with people around her and remind us that she was still a kid, still growing, still dreaming.”

Margo began treatment immediately following her diagnosis at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at MU Health Care, where kids got to visit the “prize box” after completing rounds of chemotherapy or other intense treatments and long-term care.

After she noticed most of the prize items were geared toward younger children, she organized a donation drive just six months after beginning treatment. With the help of her mom, Margo donated two carts full of items and activities to MU Children’s Hospital that would appeal to fellow teenage patients.

“Regardless of how she’s feeling and where she’s at and how tough things are, she is a light that’s gonna continue to shine bright,” Joe Brown said. “So much more so whenever you realize how dark the moment is that she’s shining in.”

He said it’s been impactful to watch her encourage other kids going through similar treatments, such as praying over them, even while she was going through it herself.

Amanda, a graphic design teacher and illustrator, created a ‘logo’ for Margo’s journey and printed slips of paper with her story to give out alongside prizes to teenage patients. A red dragon frames a photo of Margo grinning with freshly cut short hair, while another weaves in and out of her name in gold lettering.

“Whatever you are going through,” the slips, addressed from Margo, read, “remember that you are stronger than you think — just like a dragon.”

Support from all sides

“We love our (MU) Children’s Hospital experience,” Amanda Brown said. “We couldn’t imagine having a better care team.”

Margo’s father said their family has greatly benefited from the emotional and relational support provided by their Child Life team.

“These people have become very close friends and love Margot dearly and always come pop in and chat with her, and are very uplifting humans,” Joe Brown said.

“Not only (the Child Life team), but every single nurse and doctor and staff member with the pediatric oncology, and then on the floor upstairs for the pediatric wing, they’re all just so incredible,” he said. “The biggest gift they’ve given is their kindness and friendship to us and our daughter while she’s going through this.”

In late November 2025, Margo completed her treatment of Methotrexate, an intense chemotherapy aimed at stopping cancer cells from growing and dividing. Last week, she completed receiving a form of immunotherapy, adjacent to chemotherapy, called Blinatumomab, or “Blina,” for short.

According to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Blina is an intravenous infusion that helps the immune system’s T cells find more tumor cells by bringing them together, allowing the immune system to destroy leukemia cells more effectively.

In 2024, a donation to MU Health Care by GP M.A.D.E., the foundation created by cancer survivor and former Mizzou head football coach Gary Pinkel, enabled the pediatric cancer care team to get the specialized pumps needed for patients to receive Blina.

Every week for four weeks, Margo returned to MU Children’s Hospital to have the needle accessing her bloodstream and “Blina bag” changed. She stayed for a few days to be monitored, then got to return home with her backpack containing the medicine and machine constantly pumping into her body.

John and Jennifer Wampler, founders of Lizzy’s Walk of Faith Foundation, have long been close friends of Margo’s parents. Amanda said the family has supported the couple and their foundation since their daughter, Lizzy, passed from pediatric cancer when she was 10.

At this year’s eighth annual Lizzy’s Walk of Faith 5K, Margo was one of two honorees presented with the Lizzy Medal, an award given to current patients, presented by survivors of pediatric cancer.

Margo said the moment she received the medal, she felt “an overwhelming amount of emotions.”

“I felt like I was seeing that things were really hard, but (the Wampler’s) know that they’re really hard,” she said.

Joe and Amanda said the Wamplers have supported their family financially and shown up for their daughter following her diagnosis, visiting her in the hospital, bringing treats and even attending her performance in the school musical this past fall.

With the help of her teachers, Margo practiced outside of school hours and met one-on-one with her music teacher to participate in the Southern Boone Middle School musical. She was able to perform as Miss Trunchbull in “Matilda: The Musical.”

In addition to theater, Margo has made an effort to keep up with dance while undergoing treatment, even performing at her recital just one month after her diagnosis.

While her low energy levels make active hobbies more difficult, Margo and her mother said her teachers have been nothing but supportive and understanding.

Amanda also thanked the Southern Boone Middle School community for their support, including seventh grade counselor Sarah Williams for her help in keeping Margo caught up on schoolwork.

The journey ahead

Margo entered remission in August 2025, but she still has about two years remaining of treatment.

For the next eight weeks, Margo will enter “delayed intensification,” a stage where she will start a more intense chemotherapy regimen, receive lumbar punctures and oral medication, and likely receive blood transfusions. She’ll have weekly clinic visits to monitor her vital signs and laboratory results.

Margo said she’ll also receive intramuscular shots of an intense chemotherapy three times a week, her “least favorite” way to receive treatment because of the intense burning sensation from the medicine.

Following delayed intensification, Margo will receive a lower dose of methotrexate in “intramaintenance two” before entering “maintenance,” the final stage of treatment.

Margo turns 14 on Jan. 28, and her family plans to celebrate it this coming weekend by traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, to zipline through underground caverns.

She’s looking forward to seeing Link, the hospital’s energetic Golden Retriever therapy dog, and her child life team when she returns to MU Children’s Hospital.