15-year-old cancer survivor honored at Days of ’47 Rodeo
Jul 22, 2025, 10:00 PM | Updated: Jul 23, 2025, 8:34 am
SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday night was the kickoff for the Days of 47 Rodeo, and a special guest was recognized to start off the program.
15-year-old Jake Williams drove a wagon team of horses for the first time as the star of the show.
“I was really excited and it’s a cool opportunity,” Williams said.
Williams rode to raise awareness for childhood cancer, and the crowd celebrated because Williams is a cancer survivor.
“It was almost too good to be true,” said Natalie Williams, the 15-year-old’s mother.
Nearly a year ago, Williams was stung by a bee. He’s allergic, so the Williams family took Jake to the doctor for treatment.
After a few weeks, William’s father, Jeff, said he was still swollen.
They took Williams in again, and through an ultrasound, Doctors found Stage Two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“Hearing the word cancer is rough and hearing it about your kid is some of the hardest times we’ve had to go through,” Jeff said.
Williams had chemo and immunotherapy every other week from October to May.
“He would go days without eating,” Jeff said.
The Williamses learned there were no chemotherapy treatments for kids, only adult levels. It’s why Jeff said they were relieved Williams qualified for an immunotherapy trial.
Natalie said the aftereffects of immunotherapy were significantly less dramatic than the chemo, but for Williams, it was still cancer treatments.
“You’re just sick all of the time and you just sleep,” Williams said.
In May, Williams rang the bell, celebrating the end of his treatments.
Jake with his family, ringing the bell to celebrate the end of treatments. (Photo courtesy: Williams family)
“It’s emotional and just a tender thing,” Natalie said. “We’re grateful, for sure.”
The Golden Circle of Champions reached out to the Williams family, wanting to honor Williams at the Days of 47 Rodeo.
A spokesperson said only four percent of cancer funds go towards childhood cancer research, and they’re hoping William’s story can help change that.
“Hope that this does raise some awareness and some money to help kids with cancer,” Jeff said.
The Golden Circle of Champions will fly the Williams family to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December with 20 other kids with cancer to honor them there.
