CINCINNATI — Nathan Mills has spent the year fighting for his life, and he isn't even two yet.
The 21-month-old, whose family lives in London, Kentucky, has high-risk neuroblastoma — a rare cancer that often starts in the adrenal glands of young children. Nathan was diagnosed in November 2024 at the University of Kentucky.
With his disease, Nathan would need bone marrow transplant therapy. But the pediatric center at UK does not provide that, so his family made the two-and-a-half-hour drive north to Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
In December, they met with Dr. Chris Dandoy and the Bone Marrow Transplantation and Immune Deficiency team. Nathan started his first round of treatment at the end of March.
"The therapy is incredibly intense. It requires two separate, one-month-long hospitalizations, where kids can experience all sorts of complications and they're pretty sick," Dandoy said. "For all of the patients, it's catastrophic to families. So it is as difficult as it gets."
Nathan is the middle child. Jessica and Shannon Mills are also parents to 14-year-old Peyton and 7-week-old Quentin. Dandoy, who has spent the past months growing close with the family, said he's left awed by their resilience.
"(Nathan has already received one bone marrow transplant) and now he's receiving the second. And the story with this family is they had a little baby born in between cycles. So, not only do they have a teenager at home, and then they have Nathan, who is a toddler, and now they have a brand new baby, who's an infant — a newborn," he said. "They're going through this journey, and it can't be — I can't think of much that would be harder."
Just days ago, their lives got harder. Their home is now one of dozens barely left standing in Laurel County after a devastating tornado tore through late Friday night.
Watch the video to learn more about Nathan's cancer journey and how the community is rallying to support his family in the wake of losing their home:
That's why Dandoy reached out to us — not only to share Nathan's story, but to share that of his family's hardship now compounded by recent tragedy.
Nathan, his mom and baby brother were out of harm's way because they were at the hospital that night. Shannon and Peyton weren't so lucky.
They were inside their London home, ducking for cover, when the tornado paved a path of destruction.
"It's like straight out of a movie," Dandoy said. "Dad put the teenager in the bathtub and laid on top of him in the bathtub and then their roof got pulled."
Though more than a dozen of their community members lost their lives, Nathan's dad and older brother made it out relatively unscathed. But while the Mills family is still whole, they no longer have a home to return to.
Dandoy said when he learned of the Mills' loss, he thought of ways to help. The first thing he did was contact the Dragonfly Foundation, a Cincinnati-based organization that assists pediatric cancer families.
"They came out of the woodwork and had immediately contacted the family to find out what they could do, but on top of it, brought some resources to the hospital for them, and they were there immediately," Dandoy said.
Dandoy stopped by the hospital to pay the family a visit on Sunday, too.
"I have no idea how this family has done it. They are some of the best people I've ever met. The trials and tribulations of just having cancer is monumental. And they're kind, they're gentle, and they're loving," Dandoy said. "And then to lose your home? They said, 'At least we have our family. We're together.' I'm hopeful that I can be like them sometime."
Despite the recent tragedy, Dandoy said the family has some relief coming their way. Nathan is nearing the end of the difficult part of his cancer journey.
"(In two or three weeks) he gets out of the hospital, he'll need some radiation still ... and after that he has some antibody therapy, which is nothing compared to what he is currently getting, and then we can get him back to normal life around other kids again, get him playing, get him in his recovery," Dandoy said. "He'll be a survivor when he's done with all this treatment and living a toddler-to-little kid life. That's our goal and that's what we're working for."
The family also lost their belongings in Friday's storms. They created a GoFundMe to help with recovery costs while managing Nathan's mounting medical bills.
