Las Vegas Raiders and Intermountain Health join together to celebrate and honor 4 young Intermountain cancer patients

Oct 20, 2025 at 10:16 AM

In an annual tradition, Intermountain Health and the Las Vegas Raiders joined together for the fourth consecutive year to honor and celebrate patients and their fight against cancer.

The four pediatric patients from Nevada – Colston Delk, 10; Jade Hamilton, 10; Luna Duran, 9; and Benji Sanchez, 11 – were celebrated by the Raiders and Intermountain in several ways, including once-in-a-lifetime moments with the team.

The children were honored and received a rousing cheer from the crowd during the pre-game festivities of the Las Vegas and Tennessee game on October 12.

The children came together with the goal of brighter days ahead.

Colston Delk was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in April 2024. He had five rounds of chemotherapy, five rounds of immunotherapy, more than 20 surgeries, one stem cell collection, two bone marrow transplants, 13 rounds of radiation, and daily shots and medications.

He received news that he is cancer-free this past June and just finished preventative chemotherapy and gets to ring the ceremonial bell for finishing treatments later this month.

Jade Hamilton has a love and skill for competitive dance.

A sickness last winter was found to be a solid mass in her lungs. Since February, she spent half her time in Utah getting care at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital. She completed 31 rounds of radiation and 14 rounds of chemotherapy.

Luna Duran was first diagnosed with hypothalamic optic pathway glioma at just 9 months old.

While undergoing her first year and a half of chemotherapy, doctors discovered a secondary tumor. At age 2, Luna underwent brain surgery to remove it. Unfortunately, the tumor grew back larger than before, and she had to begin another round of chemotherapy that lasted another year and a half.

At age 6, another tumor emerged that resulted in the loss of her vision, though her family says "not her spirit" as she plays the piano, sings and dances. She is not in remission or cancer-free, the tumors are stable, which her family calls a big victory.

Benji Sanchez, aka "Super Benji," has been through cancer three times.

It started with brain cancer when he was 9 months old. He went through a five-and-a-half-hour surgery where he was resuscitated twice, rigorous chemotherapy plans, three stem cell transplants, and more than 400 days in a hospital – all before he was 18 months old.

When he was 5, he was treated for a thyroid mass. This year, doctors found osteosarcoma on his ribs, which required the removal of two ribs, and numerous chemotherapy rounds. He is working towards ringing the cancer-free bell in November.

As part of tradition, the Las Vegas Raiders and Intermountain Health were able to make extra memories with the children at the Intermountain Health Performance Center, the Raiders' practice facility.

When the kids arrived with their families, Raiders' head coach, Pete Carroll, and the team welcomed them onto the practice field.

Players then led them through a huddle and cheer before giving autographs, taking pictures, playing games, and chatting together. Jade was also able to meet several Raiderettes, as they danced and cheered together.

"It's been a long, hard, emotional road, and finding joy is sometimes hard. So, this experience has been really great for the kids," said Crystal Waters, Jade's mother.

The event brought a lot of laughs, smiles and hugs for the kids, families, and the Raiders, too.

"These are the moments that we get to sit back and smile as part of the Intermountain Children's Health team. As we know what these kids have endured, that they get to experience these moments to smile and laugh and be kids, is priceless," said Lawrence Barnard, Intermountain Health president of the upcoming Nevada Children's Health Hospital.

"It's a gift to have an organization that cares so deeply about the community, such as the Las Vegas Raiders. We are truly honored to partner with them," Barnard said.

Intermountain Health's children's hospital is projected to be finished in 2030 and will include comprehensive cancer care.

To see photos of the celebration at the Intermountain Health Performance Center, as well as more community initiatives, visit Raiders.com/champ.

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Intermountain Children's Health patient Colston takes a look at an Allegiant Stadium model at Intermountain Health Performance Center.