Team Marlee Strong

The Blast gives hope to a family battling childhood cancer

Lani Munguia remembers the long, stormy ambulance ride from Odessa to Cook Children’s with her 3-year-old daughter, Marlee, in January 2021.

“We came the night that Marlee’s scans showed the mass,” Lani said. “We traveled by ambulance because there was a bad rainstorm and we couldn’t come by air. We arrived around 1 a.m., and we’ve been here ever since.”

Marlee was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that forms on nerve cells. Lani said that even when Marlee’s bloodwork was delivered, she never imagined that the symptoms her daughter showed would turn out to be cancer.

“I couldn’t wrap my head around it,” Lani said. “It was really hard to come to terms with the word ‘cancer.’”

Marlee and Lani prepared for treatment, which originally included four rounds of chemotherapy. But when Marlee’s tumor did not respond to chemotherapy, her team of caregivers began searching for other types of treatments.

Marlee underwent immunotherapy, a type of treatment that helps the body’s immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells. She underwent two bone marrow transplants and radiation before beginning another round of immunotherapy. However, throughout each stage of treatment, Marlee experienced adverse reactions. She spent time in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit after suffering acute complications of the liver, and underwent surgery for a stricture in her intestine.

When Lani heard about The Blast, our annual 5K walk to raise funds for the Hematology and Oncology Center, she knew Marlee had to have a team.

“Marlee was not a patient that responded to standard treatment,” Lani said. “The Blast raises awareness and funds for research and other avenues to take, and for me that was everything. It was hope for us. Without that, I don’t know where we would be. That’s why we joined The Blast.”

In 2022, Team Marlee Strong walked while their namesake continued treatment at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. In 2023, Marlee was well enough to walk with her family and friends.

“We had so much fun,” Lani said. “We got to see kids that we haven’t seen other than in the hospital setting. We got to walk with their parents, catch up and see each other in a happy place. We saw doctors and nurses that our family hasn’t met, and it was great to introduce the people who have been so important in our lives.”

Team Marlee Strong is more than just family and friends. When Marlee’s dad, Mason, a baseball coach at

Northwest High School, told his team about The Blast, they came to support Marlee.

“We really hope that it gets bigger every year,” Lani said. “We’ve invited other teams. It’s great to get other children, especially teenagers, aware of what’s going on.”

Funds in support of research, clinical trials and world-class treatments give families hope at every stage of their journey. That hope is especially important to Lani as Marlee continues her fight.

“It means a lot,” Lani said. “We’re always thankful for people who donate, but it’s really inspiring to see people take time out of their weekend to come and walk, and celebrate these children and what they’ve been through. I love the support for her. She feels it, and she loves that people are supporting her.”

On April 6, 2024, our communities will gather at Panther Island Pavilion for The Blast. Together, we’ll walk in celebration of the children who have fought and won, in remembrance of those who have passed and in hope for a world in which pediatric cancer does not exist. As Marlee continues her fight, Lani said The Blast reminds them that they’re not alone.

“Sometimes in the hospital, we feel alone, but we’re not,” Lani said. “There are so many people who are rooting for us and encouraging us. The Blast is a great way to come together and remember our purpose: finding new ways to cure childhood cancer.”