allocated to all cancer research.
47 kids get diagnosed with cancer everyday, and Kat says the Foundation hears about them all the time. ASHER Asher was just over a year old when he was diagnosed with ATRT, an aggressive, fast-growing brain tumor that occurs primarily in very young children. From the Roaring Fork Valley, Asher was able to stay close to home as he underwent an intense treatment plan informed by emerging research funded by the Foundation. He went through two brain surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and a stem cell transplant – all before his second birthday. “All cancer treatment is awful, but this treatment path improved his survival rates by threefold, and today he is a thriving little 9-year-old boy,” says Kat. Asher recently started fourth grade and loves dogs, robots, and building things. But Kat says even though kids like Asher are able to survive, that survival mark they surpassed is a little misleading. “The treatment paths these kids have to go under, they’re getting treated with chemo and radiation and really, really harsh drugs and surgeries. It’s oftentimes the side effects that are just lifelong that they have to deal with. You’re looking at developmental delays sometimes, or cognitive delays, physical delays, things like that.” It’s not as easy as saying “You’re cured!” and moving down the path of life. Kids often have to endure relapses later in life as well, or secondary cancers. “We have to do better for our kids, and that’s why we will never stop,” Kat says. Cancer also doesn’t discriminate, and can happen to any kid at any time. Kat says when it does happen, to remember that the Foundation is a resource that is there to help, funding all pediatric cancer research. Out of the 14 people in the organization, six are parents of a child who has been diagnosed with cancer, and four are bereaved parents. “It’s any kid, anywhere. You never know. If that does happen to anyone, we are here, and we’re going t o fight for those kids,” Kat says.
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