WESTFIELD, Ind. — Today, Miles and Samantha Brown of Westfield are your typical big sister/little brother duo.
For Christmas, Miles wants a new pair of noise-canceling headphones, “So I don’t have to listen to her,” he said jokingly.
Samantha is hoping for a new set of Legos, after already crossing off a big item on her list — seeing pop star Taylor Swift in concert in October.
"It was really cool seeing her in person,” she said, smiling. “I wore like a purple sparkly dress."
A few years ago, a day in the life for the Brown family was anything but typical.
“So when we last spoke, Samantha and Miles were just almost a year in remission, so they were just growing strength back their hair was growing back” said Jeff Brown reflecting on the last update his family shared with 13News in 2021.
"They've conquered the unimaginable, back-to-back cancer diagnoses followed by difficult treatment and surgery," said Jeff. "We don't want to see any family go through what we went through."
RELATED: Westfield couple giving back to Riley Hospital staff who helped their children through cancer battle
Samantha was 6 years old when doctors found a Wilms tumor on her kidney, a rare cancer that would bring 20 rounds of chemotherapy. Just as her treatment ended, her brother Miles' fight would begin a few short months later.
He was 2 years old when he went in for a check-up. Doctors would later diagnose Miles with Burkitt's leukemia, an aggressive cancer that left multiple tumors on his kidneys and liver.
Both were successfully treated at Riley Hospital for Children.
"To put it simply, they saved our children's lives, so we are forever indebted to them," Jeff said, reflecting on the staff that became more like family.
Because of that life-saving care, life for Miles and Samantha, now 8 and 11, looks so different than just a few short years ago.
Miles’ blood cancer diagnosis once kept him from walking. Now you can catch him running down the football field, even scoring his first touchdown this season. He loves to show off his custom football cleats gifted by Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce, an advocate and supporter of Riley Hospital for Children.
Samantha has found her own stride on the competition mat. She’s a competitive cheerleader that loves tumbling and dancing with her teammates. Both she and her brother have a lot to cheer about, as they are approaching five years cancer-free.
It’s a bit of a sigh of relief, as dad explained.
"When you hit that five-year mark, the chances of the cancer ever coming back is so low that we feel even more confident," Jeff said. "We still have that anxiety and we always will as parents the kids not so much, they were obviously very resilient during the treatment."