Kasey

One morning during her last month of kindergarten, Kasey vomited, and then she was completely fine... Until the next afternoon when she got sick again. Over the next few weeks, she started getting sick more frequently and also started complaining of headaches.

Kasey's doctors ran multiple tests that all came back negative. One day, less than a month after her symptoms first appeared, the vomiting became so bad that we took her to the ER. We expected she would get an IV for hydration, a quick CT scan, and then we would head back home. Unfortunately, the CT scan revealed a large mass in Kasey's brain, and she ended up spending the next few weeks in the hospital.

Kasey had surgery to remove the tumor and was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. She had her first of 30 radiation treatments the day before her 6th birthday, and then went through 7 rounds of chemo. She handled her treatment remarkably well, keeping busy with art, building complex Lego sets, and reading Harry Potter.

After a few months in remission, our worst nightmare came true... In September of 2022, a routine MRI showed the cancer had returned. The only thing worse than finding out your child has cancer is hearing that it has come back, especially so quickly after the initial treatment. This time we knew what we were in for, and we also knew the dismal statistics for relapse.

Since Kasey’s relapse she has participated in multiple experimental clinical trials. There are no good treatment options when Medulloblastoma relapses so quickly, so our best option is to keep trying new things until they stop working, or even better, until we find something that is successful.