MARYSVILLE – Ten months ago, Layla was diagnosed with cancer and given a 50-50 chance of survival.

Today, she runs around the house, her hair is starting to grow back, and she enjoys watching Little Einstein and the cartoon Octogon. She likes movies, but only a few of them. She watched Finding Nemo 23 times one week, and Inside Out is her “go- to movie now,” said her mom, Jessica Beckstrand. Layla doesn’t eat much so a tube that runs into her nose provides her formula throughout the day. But she does like chips, and mac and cheese. Her eyes are as big as ever, and so is her laugh.

Mom’s already planning for family all over the country to gather here in April for Layla’s “cancer-free” third birthday party.

She and husband Mike know her recovery is a “blessing.” They have seen other patients come and go at Children’s Hospital in Seattle.

“When the doctor said the ‘c’ word it was scary; we thought death was imminent,” Jessica said. “But she’s gonna make it. You can’t ask for much more.”

She said Mike’s mom had breast cancer and his dad prostate cancer. But “it’s a lot harder watching little kids go through it.”

Layla still has five months of treatment to go, but she is past the hardest part. “She’s done with chemo, stem cell transplants and radiation,” Jessica said.

Jessica said compared to other children, Layla has “sailed right through it,” with hardly any side effects.

Not that it’s been easy. For the two stem-cell transplants, they had to go to Seattle 28 days in a row. She received “super high” doses of chemotherapy.

“It was so scary. She got so sick. They had to kill everything,” Jessica said, adding the cancer had metastasized into Layla’s major bones and organs.

While it was hard on her, Jessica and Mike said Layla endured it so well they decided for her to go through it a second time.

“With a tandem transplant there’s a better chance it won’t come back,” Jessica said of the cancer. “She’s been through the most-toxic treatment” available.

Because of all the chemo and medicines, Layla’s skin is extra sensitive. She has to stay out of the sun as much as possible. And it can be so painful when changing a dressing that she screams.

“But she still holds still,” her mom said. “She’s so used to all the pokes and prods. Nurses fight over her. She’s the ideal patient. When they need vitals she’ll stick her arm up even when sleeping.”

With all the treatment, there is a chance Layla will have medical problems later in life, such as hearing loss. But because cancer treatment for kids is evolving, there are no studies on long-term effects.

Jessica said so many people have supported them. Their entire Sunnyside neighborhood has helped out. Jessica had only recently been laid off, but it ended up “being a blessing in disguise.” Mike is an investigator, and his boss, a cancer survivor himself, has allowed him to work from home. “They’ve bent over backwards for us,” Mike said.

A GoFundMe online account was started months ago. Donations have gone mostly to pay for gas. They have given some money to other cancer patients to “pay it forward.” Jessica’s sister Jeanine Smith even moved here from Florida to live with them.

Jessica called Layla’s doctor “a saint,” explaining everything along the way. All of the hospitals and nurses have been great. At Children’s, she got to meet actor Chris Pratt and singer Macklemore. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson goes there every Tuesday, and he introduced himself to her.

“I know who you are. You don’t have to tell me that,” she told him.

Jessica’s best helper, however, has been Layla’s brother Owen, who is 5. While they were close before, they are even closer now. “Owen’s on top of everything,” Jessica said. “He’s really stepped up to the plate, and he didn’t have to.”

Owen is very in touch with how his sister is feeling. After her first transplant he held her and softed her hair for hours. But when she’s feeling better he doesn’t mind racing around the house with her or tapping her over the head with a pillow – things most big brothers do.

He also likes to help his mom care for her, such as when he measures medicine for syringes.

“It feels like we’re always pumping something into her,” Jessica said.

Owen, who started kindergarten Monday, also supports Layla in other ways, such as wearing bands on his ankle with her name on them. One band is from a Celebration of Life for one girl who didn’t make it.

While it’s been tough, Mike said he’s gotten through it by “focusing on the next task,” which he said fits his personality. By doing that, he can “focus on what we can control and avoid some grief.”

Jessica said, “I’m the worrier,” adding her major coping mechanism is “cleaning.”

“I was bad before,” Jessica admitted, but now she uses hospital-grade cleaner because “the tiniest germs can cause infection.”

Mike said when they first found out about Layla Oct. 29, “We had no idea what we were in for. We went to the cancer ward and were in awe. Like what are we doing here? Now we’re the veterans.”

Mike said he doesn’t know what it’s going to be like when Layla doesn’t need treatment anymore. “We don’t know what normal is.”

Jessica said she wishes that our country would pay as much attention to childhood cancer as it does to breast cancer.

“We’ll hear about it almost every day on national and local news stations, and see it in sports when our Hawks wear their pink socks and pink ribbons,” Jessica said of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Many may not even be aware that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

“I wish our own kids could get that same support,” Jessica said.