Extra Effort: Senior Savannah Jost brings fight against pediatric cancer to Tremont
TREMONT, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — When she was a freshman, Savannah Jost wasn't sure what to think about high school.
'It was really scary,' Jost said. 'You're the new kid and now you're the cancer kid.'
Midway through her freshman year at Tremont, Savannah was diagnosed with Hodgins Lymphoma. But now the two-sport standout is two years into remission and three years out of cancer treatment.
Because of her positive experience at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital she started Tremont High School's first St. Jude Club to help other kids fight cancer.
'We raised funds at basketball games, volleyball games, football games,' said Jost. 'Our little club has raised over $7,000 for St. Jude this year.'
Savannah led her 20-member Tremont St. Jude club to the St. Jude's Midwest Affiliate clinic at OSF in Peoria where it decorated the playroom at Christmastime. She used her volleyball and basketball teams to tell her story of surviving cancer and continue to raise money for St. Jude's.
There were raffles, St. Jude nights and other functions to raise money and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancers.
'I've tried my best to try and raise money and give back to the organization that helped me graduate,' Jost said. 'It was definitely accomplishing my goal of leaving a piece of me behind at Tremont.'
Her competitive playing career is over in sports as Jost will graduate from high school this month. Now she'll focus on studying to be a radiologist in the oncology field.
She has another big goal ahead.
'When you go to St. Jude in Memphis, there's a wall with pictures of doctors, nurses and staff that have been St. Jude patients. They each have a photo of when they were a patient going through their treatment,' Jost said.
'I told my mom, 'I'm going to be on that wall.''
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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