About AYA Unfiltered: The Jackson Copeland Foundation exists to help Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) leukemia patients navigate the overwhelming nature of this terrible disease. AYA Unfiltered is our commitment to telling the whole truth. In this series, we highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly side of leukemia as a young adult—sharing stories of triumph, stories of loss, and the messy reality in between.
Today’s story is about Broeden, told through the loving, honest lens of his mother, Kerynn, who shares where his journey started, what he has endured, what he continues to face today, and how their family finds strength through the unknown. Learn more at Broeden Strong – Fight Against AML:
December 22, 2025: A date that divided our lives into before and after.
At just 17 years old, Broeden was diagnosed with high-risk AML. He went from being a healthy, active teenager who loved riding his dirt bike, riding his bike, spending time with friends, and simply being a kid — to fighting for his life.
Chemotherapy began on December 27, 2025.
And then came the news no family wants to hear: There was no matching donor for Broeden. We had many plans.. and had to settle on plan D after a month of heart wrenching rage and teared filled conversations with his transplant doctor.
His path forward became a double cord blood transplant. His only chance at surviving.
On March 23, 2026, Broeden received his transplant – a new chance at life from two cord blood donors he will never meet, but whose gifts will forever be part of his story.
From the day of his diagnosis on December 22 until May 1, 2026, Broeden never left the hospital.
Five months of hospital rooms.
Five months of treatments, transfusions, procedures, fear, waiting, hope, and fighting.
The transplant itself was brutal. He faced VOD, SVT, BK virus, and complications involving his gut. Recovery has not been a straight line. We have been in and out of the hospital, navigating one complication after another and learning how quickly everything can change.
And yet, somehow, through all of it…
Broeden is thriving medically today!
We celebrate that. We cherish it. We don’t take a single day for granted. Because this journey has taught us something no family should ever have to learn:
Today is a gift, but tomorrow is never promised.
Broeden is a young adult now, so he has his own emotions and feelings about his Cancer. And he does not wish to be defined or remembered by his cancer. What he does want is to grow up, be healthy, and continue to raise awareness to the stem cell and bone marrow registry. Raise awareness for AML and get better results for everyone to come after him.
Cancer introduced our family to a world we never asked to know — a world of fear, grief, uncertainty, resilience, and heartbreak. But it also introduced us to something equally powerful: community.
People who showed up.
People who donated.
People who prayed.
People who gave.
People who understood.
People who helped carry us when we didn’t know how we were going to keep carrying ourselves.
We are forever changed by the people who became part of Broeden’s story. And now, we want to be part of changing the stories that come after his.
Broeden and I both know that the road to recovery from AML, chemotherapy, and transplant is a long one. What he endured was brutal. I won’t say he sailed through it, because he didn’t. We faced complications, setbacks, uncertainty, and some incredibly frightening moments.
But I can say this: he did better than I ever could have imagined-and better than I personally know I could have at 17. His strength has amazed me over and over again.
Now we’re in a different part of the journey. The part where you’re supposed to be moving forward, healing, rebuilding, and enjoying being home… but there is still that feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
We have fears.
Relapse.
What happens if he needs a donor again and there is no match?
GVHD.
Long-term complications.
Additional health problems.
Secondary cancers.
And all of the other scary possibilities that come with what his body has been through.
Those fears don’t simply disappear because he is in remission. I know some people can focus completely on the bright side. I truly admire that. But for me, as his mom, I can’t pretend the scary side doesn’t exist.
I am incredibly thankful for his life. I am thankful he is here. I am thankful we get to watch him heal, laugh, ride, make plans, and soon be an 18-year-old again.
But being thankful for his life does not mean I have to be okay with what it took to get him here.
I am not happy that this is what he had to endure to survive. And I don’t think we should ever stop asking for better.
More research. More treatment options. More matches. More access. More hope. More children who get the chance to grow up.
We need to do better.
Our children deserve more than surviving. They deserve the chance to truly recover.
We deserve to be able to celebrate the bright side without constantly wondering what is waiting around the corner.
Not someday. Not for the next generation. Now.
So yes, I will celebrate every good day. Every clear marrow. Every laugh. Every milestone. Every ordinary moment that once felt impossible.
But I will also acknowledge the fear. Because both can exist at the same time.
I can be grateful he is alive and still wish desperately that he never had to go through this.
And I can have hope for his future while still fighting for a future where children/adolescents diagnosed with AML don’t have to endure what Broeden did just to have one.
That’s why we are so proud to be part of the Jackson Copeland Foundation!
Broeden’s journey began with a diagnosis we never expected, but we hope his story can become something bigger than cancer — a reason to keep fighting, keep giving, keep researching, and keep believing in a future where families don’t have to hear the words “there is no match.”
For Broeden.
For the children still fighting.
For the families sitting beside hospital beds tonight.
And for every child who deserves the chance to grow up.
We fight because they deserve better.
Help us advance acute myeloid leukemia (AML) research by supporting our research partnership with the Center for Advanced Leukemia Therapies & Research in Ohio! Learn more at jacksoncopeland.org/research!