Family Holds Parade For Levittown Mother Beginning Cancer Treatment

On Sunday afternoon, about 100 cars, motorcycles and firetrucks paraded down Green Lane in Bristol Township to support a Levittown resident beginning her third round of cancer treatment.

Jamie Campbell, 36, sat in a foldable chair as family, friends and neighbors drove by beeping their horns in support of her. Many of the cars had positive messages like “You Can Beat This” and “Keep Fighting.” Some drivers even slowed down to give gifts to the family.

On Monday, Campbell, who is a single mother, will begin her third round of treatment at St. Mary’s Hospital for brain cancer. She first discovered a lump on her chest on Memorial Day in 2016 and has had multiple surgeries and radiation treatment since that date. Most recently, on April 3, Jaime suffered a seizure and was told she had four tumors in her brain. One tumor was removed via surgery, but the others will require special radiation to prevent them from growing. But on this Sunday, where she was around family and friends, Jamie was all smiles with her mother Cheryl and her daughter Bailey.

“It was nice knowing that everyone took the time out of their day to drive by and show support, especially when that is really hard to do right now. I had friends drive by and their kids made signs to show support, so they were here for me but they were also here for my daughter as well,” Campbell said.

One Bensalem resident drove in with his own firetruck, a caravan of motorcyclists, including one dressed as Captain America, drove by and waved to the family and local company Thackray donated their crane machine to hoist an American flag above Green Lane.

“With everything going on it felt like the right thing to do and to show support,” said Rob Shero, a crane operator for the company. “It’s the least we could do. For everyone to come out during this whole thing, it shows we’re trying to be united. Even though we can’t be shoulder-to-shoulder at this time, everyone can still show their support for Jaime and the family.”

And this type of support can be extremely beneficial for cancer patients. According to a 2017 study published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s website, there is now scientific evidence of the benefits of providing psychosocial cancer care to patients and families as part of standard care in reducing distress and psychosocial morbidity associated with cancer. This can lead to a better quality of life during and after treatment, and eventually increased survival for the patient.

When Jamie’s mother Cheryl Campbell began to put the parade together, she never expected the turnout she saw on Sunday afternoon.

“We wanted to show her that the community and family and friends are here for her. Since we couldn’t do a fundraiser or a party, this was the next best thing to do. It just amazed me that we put the invite out and people continued to say yes and continued to show support,” Cheryl Campbell said.

After the near 100 cars drove by the Campbell family, residents parked in Harry S. Truman High School’s parking lot as Jaime drove around on the back of a pickup truck, waving and thanking her friends and family.

Jamie’s father James and her uncle George were standing in the parking lot after the event. James said he was blown away by the support from neighbors.

“This is really going to help her get through this treatment. She needed all the support and she got it,” James said.

“I think this is wonderful with the show of support, love and caring and you need more of that going around these days. It’s great,” George Campbell said.

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