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TAMPA, Fla. – \u00a0A cancer <\/a>diagnosis is a life-altering experience for many. It’s what the York family in Tampa <\/a>endured when their youngest daughter, Ellie York, was diagnosed with leukemia at just 2 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n The backstory:<\/p>\n Ellie, who’s now 12 years old, is taking on a dream to be an artist through the “Bob Ross America’s Most Artistic Kid” competition.<\/p>\n Ellie is part of a national group of over 50 kids competing in the “Bob Ross America’s Most Artistic Kid” competition. It’s where aspiring young artists compete online, showcasing their art in an annual competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n One aspiring artist will win a grand prize of $20,000 along with having their artwork showcased at the Minnetrista Museum in Indiana <\/a>and featured in a special episode of “The Joy of Painting.”<\/p>\n READ:\u00a0\u2018Be Your Own Advocate\u2019: How a St. Pete woman found pre-cancer 5 years before the recommended screening age<\/a><\/p>\n Dig deeper:<\/p>\n A cancer diagnosis is something no parent is ever ready for, and Ellie’s mom, Jaclyn York, said it was an uninvited welcome.<\/p>\n “It was pediatric cancer that hit our family very unexpectedly. We didn’t know what to do, we didn’t know how it would look like,” Jaclyn said.<\/p>\n Ellie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and Jaclyn credits the help of the various medical staff at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.<\/p>\n “We were very fortunate that we had the right doctors around, we were able to have our daughter seek treatment here in Tampa at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. They have an amazing oncology unit, staff, nurses, doctors, everything,” Jaclyn said.<\/p>\n Now after nearly three years of treatment, her family says she is four years into remission and approaching the anniversary of her diagnosis.<\/p>\n What they’re saying:<\/p>\n “We are so grateful now that she’s actually approaching the 10-year anniversary of her diagnosis, and so she is just vibrant, she’s strong, she’s beautiful inside and outside, she’s outgoing, and she’s creative,” Jaclyn said.<\/p>\n READ:\u00a0Moffitt Cancer Center offers free skin cancer screenings in Tampa: Here’s where they’re offered<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0It took a long way to get here, and the development of Ellie’s interest in art is something Jaclyn accredits to her influence of being around her two sisters, Eva and Nora.<\/p>\n “Ellie kind of leaned into that just like the other girls did. I think being the youngest one, she wanted to keep up with her sisters and do what they were doing.”<\/p>\n Ellie loves art; she and her sisters weren’t the first in the family to do art.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I know I loved doing it for a long time and my grandma likes to do art too, so I guess I got a lot from her,” Ellie said.<\/p>\n Being in the “Bob Ross America’s Most Artistic Kid” competition\u00a0brings lots of joy to Ellie.<\/p>\n “I was really, really happy, I was excited to see that my work was being appreciated,” Ellie said. “There’s multiple rounds, you have to pass each round. So, this week I had to get either first or second, and you can vote for a person you want to win or donate to get a certain amount of votes.”\u00a0<\/p>\n What you can do:<\/p>\n Group finalist voting ends Thursday at 10 p.m. If you want to support Ellie competing in the “Bob Ross America’s Most Artistic Kid” competition, you can vote for her and learn more about her here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Source: Information for this story was gathered from interviews with the York family.<\/p>\n Tampa<\/a>Cancer<\/a>Seen on TV<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article TAMPA, Fla. – \u00a0A cancer diagnosis is a life-altering experience for many. 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