15-year-old cancer survivor honored at Days of '47 Rodeo

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Jake Williams, a 15-year-old cancer survivor, was honored at the Days of '47 Rodeo.
He drove a horse wagon, raising awareness for childhood cancer research funding.
Williams' story highlights the need for more childhood cancer research and funding support.

SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday night was the kickoff for the Days of '47 Rodeo, and a special guest was recognized to start off the program.

Jake Williams, 15, drove a wagon team of horses for the first time as the star of the show.

"I was really excited, and (it's a) real cool opportunity," Williams said.

Williams rode to raise awareness for childhood cancer, and the crowd celebrated because Williams is a cancer survivor.

"It was almost too good to be true," said Natalie Williams, the teen's mother.

Nearly a year ago, Jake Williams was stung by a bee. He's allergic, so the Williams family took him to the doctor for treatment.

After a few weeks, Jake William's father, Jeff, said Jake was still swollen.

They took him in again, and through an ultrasound, doctors found stage two Hodgkin lymphoma.

"Hearing the word cancer is tough, and hearing it about your kid is some of the hardest times we've had to go through," Jeff Williams said.

"He would go days without eating," Jeff Williams said.

The Williamses learned there were no chemotherapy treatments for kids, only adult levels. It's why Jeff Williams said they were relieved Jake Williams qualified for an immunotherapy trial.

Natalie Williams said the aftereffects of immunotherapy were significantly less dramatic than the chemo, but for Jake Williams, it was still cancer treatments.

"You're sick all of the time and you just sleep," Jake Williams said.

In May, he rang the bell, celebrating the end of his treatments.

Jake Williams with his family, ringing the bell to celebrate the end of cancer treatments. He drove a wagon team of horses as the Days of '47 Rodeo kicked off Tuesday. (Photo: Williams family)

"It's emotional and just a tender thing," Natalie Williams said. "We're grateful, for sure."

The Golden Circle of Champions reached out to the Williams family, wanting to honor Williams at the Days of '47 Rodeo.

A spokesperson said only 4% of cancer funds go toward childhood cancer research, and they're hoping Jake William's story can help change that.

"Hope that this does raise some awareness and some money to help kids with cancer," Jeff Williams said.

The Golden Circle of Champions will fly the Williams family to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December with 20 other kids with cancer to honor them there.

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