Kate is a Rare Gem, Traveling Far Distances for Her Cancer Treatment

Kate is a beautiful 16-year-old from Illinois with a sarcastic sense of humor. Kate has a rare type of childhood cancer commonly found in the adrenal glands called Neuroblastoma. She is enrolled in a clinical trial at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and flies back and forth to New York for her cancer treatments. Kate’s mom, Lisa, says the hardest part about traveling to treatment is that it’s physically and emotionally draining. The trip is 800 miles one way. Compass to Care assists Kate and Lisa by coordinating and paying for their travel from Illinois to New York, and their return trip back home. Lisa is thankful Compass to Care helped relieve the financial burden of travel. Her message to our donors is, “Thank you, you have no idea how much your support means until you are in our shoes…and I hope you never are.”

Kate participated as a model in the Compass to Care Fashion Show a few years ago. She walked down the runway with a Gemologist, a field Kate plans to go into one day. Kate was given an Amethyst stone that she still has today, she keeps it on a stand in her living room. We would say that Kate is truly a gem, she travels immense distances to fight her cancer. We are happy to share that Kate recently completed the two-year mark of the clinical trial at Sloan Kettering in New York. Her devoted mom, Lisa, remains by her side as they continue to fly back and forth for scans. We are so grateful for the advice Lisa gives to other parents who are facing their own challenges, “Do what you need to in the beginning for your child but remember self-care too or you will not have the strength you need for your child. Try to walk for 10-30 minutes a day outside the hospital just to clear your mind, it’s good for your heart and soul. Never second guess yourself, go with your gut.”

Thank you Kate and Lisa for sharing part of your journey, and for modeling how to take care of ourselves and each other.