Community reaches out to help mom of 8-month-old baby diagnosed with cancer


Stormy Jean Sigman was born March 20 at Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains to parents Teagan Broderick and Josh Sigman. When she was a month old a raised, discolored area appeared on her head, and two weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer.

Stormy Sigman is pictured here with her mom Teagan Broderick of Gainesville.

Gainesville-area mother Teagan Broderick says she is thankful for the support of friends, neighbors and other local residents who have contributed more than $5,000 to help cover expenses she and her family will incur while her 8-month-old daughter Stormy undergoes multiple surgeries to remove cancerous tumors, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments. 

“It means so much that people are willing to help us like this,” Teagan told the Times Monday. “It takes a lot of extra stress off our shoulders.”

The amount raised is about 70 percent of the $8,000 goal created on the GoFundMe page, and more donations are being accepted after that, as Stormy’s medical journey is likely just beginning. 

Teagan said a tumor on Stormy’s forehead “popped up overnight” when the baby girl was about a month old, and Teagan immediately took the 8-month-old to a doctor to be seen. That tumor has continued to grow over the last seven months, and unbeknownst to them, so had several other tumors.

The doctor who saw the baby initially told Teagan that the raised bump and mark was a hemangioma, a type of raised, colored birthmark that usually appears in the first or second week of life, but Teagan and Stormy’s father, Josh Sigman, say they knew it was something more. 

“I had my mom’s friend advocate to get us sent to a dermatology specialist in St. Louis,” Teagan explained. “And Stormy’s dad went rounds with that initial doctor telling him he knew it was something else, and something was wrong.”

Although the doctor was confident that the raised, discolored area on the child’s head was a hemangioma, he agreed to send a referral to a dermatology specialist in St. Louis. But even then, Teagan said doctors didn’t immediately diagnose the cancer.

“They never did any testing or anything until recently, and only because I begged them to,” she said. 

It was a good thing that Teagan and the rest of her family pressed the medical professionals for further testing because on Nov. 15, the child was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that develops tumors in the soft tissues of the body.

Doctors are currently aware of five tumors inside Stormy’s body, but they say more may be discovered as they begin surgery and treatment. 

Stormy will undergo the first surgery at a St. Louis hospital on Dec. 6 to remove a tumor that has grown into her throat, causing her to aspirate and have difficulty breathing and swallowing. A second surgery will follow a week later to remove a golf ball-sized tumor on her forehead that causes her eyes to cross, Teagan said. 

The plan is then to undergo a third surgery removing tumors from the child’s chest on Jan. 10. She will then undergo chemotherapy and radiation. 

At least two other surgeries are expected to be scheduled. Because Stormy so young, doctors have estimated her survival rate at 60 percent. 

The money donated through the fundraiser will be used by Teagan and other family members to take off from work to be with Stormy while she has surgery and chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

To donate, visit gofundme.com and search for “Donate to Stormy Jean.” 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423