San Antonio 2-year-old fighting cancer gets his wish of a White Christmas

Silas Pope was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a cancer that forms in soft tissue, in early 2021

SAN ANTONIO – Christmas is just weeks away, but for a San Antonio 2-year-old battling cancer his holiday wishes have already come true.

Silas Pope and his family said they wished for a White Christmas, and that message was received.

Pope earlier in 2021 was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and went through numerous and extensive treatments, surgeries and chemotherapy, and is now currently in hospice care.

Drew and Angela Pope reached out to B.I.G. Love Cancer Care through their Love in Fragile Times program in the hopes of making their Christmas a special one, for both Silas and his older sister, Charly.

“Silas’ favorite part of anywhere we go is the bright lights and decorations,” Angela Pope said. “Every time I put lights on the house it’s just awesome and the kids love it. Emotions are running high this season, but this is Silas’ year. I want this for him.”

Jenna Painter, the director of Program Development, said she was thrilled to be able to make their dream come true.

“We are so thrilled to be able to do this for Silas and his family,” Painter said. “My first call was to Cameron (Cruising Kitchen’s Cameron Davies) and without any hesitation he said yes! Before I knew it, his whole team was involved and planning decorations with Silas’ favorite characters, purchasing a Christmas tree, and even coordinating snow delivery to his front yard. B.I.G. Love is so thankful for people like Cameron and his team, making the dreams of these childhood cancer families a reality.”

B.I.G. Love Cancer Care said it’s their mission to help ease the physical, emotional and financial burden of cancer through hope and love.

“We don’t always get what we ask for, but sometimes we get things in different ways, and this is most definitely one of those things,” Angela Pope said. “This is just really, really awesome and i’m just really thankful and grateful for everything everyone has done for our son.”


About the Authors:

Jonathan Cotto is a reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio. He’s a bilingual award-winning news reporter and he joined KSAT in 2021. Before coming to San Antonio, Cotto was reporting along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. He’s a veteran of the United States Navy.

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.