Thumbs Up For Team Max

09/02/2026

Today marks the beginning of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.🎗️When Maxson was diagnosed in 2023, it was so fresh. We didn’t even realize at the time that September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month because Max was one week in to this. One week in to what I thought was surely just a nightmare, and couldn’t yet accept as our new reality.

Most childhood cancer treatments are decades old…not because they work, but because the research hasn’t advanced. Yes, I am grateful they exist—Maxson is 28 months cancer-free. ♥️ That’s absolutely something we celebrate every minute of every day.

But the reality is he’s also been left with devastating and life-long challenges. Dramatic and life-altering side effects from his treatments have changed the course of his life. The treatments haven’t advanced, and we aren’t looking for new and better cures or ways to treat these diseases because there isn’t funding. In this way, we are failing my child and every child touched by cancer.

So today, I’m asking you to be aware…support families touched by this disease and support children’s cancer research in whatever ways you can. Contribute financial support to legitimate research (St. Baldrick's Foundation is a great one.) Call your legislators and let them know this issue is important. Don’t turn a blind eye because it hasn’t impacted you.

For all of you who’ve been alongside us for this journey, know how much we appreciate it. 💛 September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Spread the word.🎗️

08/23/2026

💙💛🎗️🎗️💛💙 Thank you to The Live Like Maya Foundation for honoring our boy!

Meet Maxson Schuster! 💙

Maxson Schuster is a positive, resilient 16-year old who was diagnosed with medulloblastoma one month after his 13th birthday. Today, he is more than two years cancer-free. While cancer treatments took some things away from Max, he has persevered and found new ways to keep living life to the fullest.

Max is active in his church youth group and has become very involved in the adaptive sports world over the last year. He plays wheelchair basketball (his team placed 9th in the nation last year!), participates in shotput and javelin in track & field, loves handcycling local 5Ks, and looks forward to revisiting adaptive skiing this winter. He is the reigning state champion in Class 1A adaptive shotput in Kentucky and broke the standing shotput record in 2026.

In his free time, Max enjoys collecting baseball cards, playing video games and trying new travel and food adventures with family and friends. Max is a sophomore at the J. Graham Brown School in Louisville, Kentucky where he is taking advanced and AP courses along with some college classes.

We are honored to honor Maxon at our upcoming 2026 Maya Grace Collins Memorial Golf Tournament! 💙🎗 Our tournament is only THREE WEEKS away! Join us on Sept 14th for an inspirational day of golf, delicious food, award winning beer, live music and more! To register to play or sponsor please visit link in bio or:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-maya-grace-collins-memorial-golf-tournament

Amy Risley Schuster

08/23/2026

Three years today. 🎗️🎗️🎗️

08/18/2026

STABLE SCANS! Officially 27 months cancer-free! 💛🎗️💛 Bonus - port comes out in the next few weeks, as soon as surgery scheduling can work him in.

Thank you for the prayers, the encouragement, the love and the positivity for our boy. We are all truly grateful.

p.s. Coach Tyler Fraser - his first question about port removal - “how long will I have to be out of basketball?” 🏀😆

08/17/2026

Big prayers and good juju and everything positive for this guy as he heads into his quarterly MRI this afternoon. You’ve got this, bud - and your village has you, and God has all of us. 💙🙏💛

08/15/2026

Today we hit a milestone I wasn’t sure we’d ever see. Max went to school five days this week. FIVE DAYS. IN A ROW. 🥳👏

First time since 6th grade. They found his tumor on the first day of 7th grade. He missed all of 7th and 8th grades and did home hospital with a private teacher. Freshman year he went back part-time, 2 or 3 days a week. And he could barely do it. His body was still so weak.

Some people may think we are too much. That we exaggerate. That silly things like school five days in a row doesn’t matter. But let me assure you…it so does. It matters. It’s normal. And for things to feel normal feels so freaking amazing. 🥹

I’m so proud of him. He’s exhausted. He came home with a migraine. So tonight he got his favorites - a peach milkshake and deep dish pizza - and he’s watching TV and loving on his kitties and planning to sleep in “all day” tomorrow. The exhaustion is real, but we’ve known other kinds of exhaustion. Much, much worse kinds. We’ll take this any day. ❤️ Week one of sophomore year is in the books!

08/06/2026

This kiddo starts his sophomore year today. It’s a wonderful thing to have a normal first day of school and not be in a hospital. He’s come so far.

Grateful beyond belief. ❤️🔟😊

08/05/2026

Getting in one last summer workout before school begins tomorrow. 💪🏋️

It was a great summer. Hoping for the same in the school year.🤞🙏 💙🙏💛

07/27/2026

https://www.tributes.curefestusa.org/

07/27/2026