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3550 Barron Way #9a • Reno, Nevada 89511
We felt the momentum of the Know the Gold Radiothon early in the day; the snowball effect was starting, and we were excited to watch it grow. The radiothon took place on January 25, 2019, at Scheels from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. With every NNCCF family that stopped by and shared their story, there was a direct effect on the amount of people calling the phone banks, stopping by or going online to donate.
An additional element to the campaign was the gift match challenge by the William N. Pennington Foundation. The foundation agreed to match all donations up to the Know the Gold Campaign goal of $300,000. Our mission was to raise $50,000 the day of the radiothon to meet the goal, but we could have never planned or imagined what actually happened. Just shy of 4 o’clock in the afternoon, the William N. Pennington Foundation challenged us to raise an extra $50,000 as a handful of donations put us over the original Know the Gold Campaign goal.
The announcement heightened the energy of the radiothon and everyone participating in Scheels. The talent on the radio stations compelled listeners to help us reach the new goal. Friends, family members and event attendees called and texted their contacts to encourage donations. Even an NNCCF child came in with her piggy bank to support other kids like her. In the last hour of the radiothon, our community raised more than $32,000.
Thank you to all of the individual donors, community partners and supporters during the radiothon and throughout our Know the Gold Campaign. Due to your support, we exceeded our campaign goal with a total of…
The Know the Gold Campaign is a community-driven fundraising effort to support local children diagnosed with cancer. Individuals, businesses, schools, churches and groups become our community partners and dedicate their time throughout the year to fundraise for NNCCF. Every charity golf tournament, lemonade stand, Facebook fundraiser and office swear jar helps NNCCF support northern Nevada families affected by a childhood cancer diagnosis.
Many community partners raise funds specifically during the Know the Gold Campaign because of its unique gift match element. The William N. Pennington Foundation has supported local families through childhood cancer by matching the funds raised through our annual Know the Gold Campaign since 2016.
The funds raised and matched during the campaign help alleviate the emotional and financial burden that a childhood cancer diagnosis can place on a local family. In 2018, 61 percent of the support NNCCF provided to local families helped with medical and travel costs such as uncovered medical procedures, emergency room visits, travel costs and lodging when away from the home due to treatment. The other 39 percent assisted families with emotional support, loss of income experienced from taking time off work to be by their child’s bedside, educational expenses, family care packages and bereavement costs.
We are grateful for the generosity of the William N. Pennington Foundation and for their ability to inspire more giving in our community. Thank you for giving our foundation the opportunity to care for northern Nevada families in ways we only dreamed possible. Thank you to all of the community partners that support us each year when we kick off the Know the Gold Campaign in September. Community Partner fundraising efforts are a testament to the caring nature of our community.
Thank you to our Know the Gold Radiothon sponsors: Cumulus Media; its talented radio personalities and stations KBUL 98.1, KKOH 780 AM, KNEV 99.5 and KWYL 102, Bonanno Concrete and MDB Trucking, Panattoni Development, Alston Construction, Granite Construction, Sierra Nevada Construction, Tectonics Design Group, Desert Fire Protection, The Medical Profession, Scheels, Conway Communications, Victory Woodworks, Vasko Electric and RHP Medical Systems.
Our goal is to raise $200,000 to support more research grants and clinical trials that can save kid’s lives. We are almost there! Visit to donate.
On Friday, March 15, 2019, we held our 14th annual Shave for the Brave event to raise funds for childhood cancer research. At the downtown Reno Ballroom, we hosted 223 participants to shave their heads in support of finding a cure for cancer. Participants from all around Nevada joined this spectacular event.
Thank you to our participants and the generous people supporting our participants for contributing to childhood cancer research. The success of our Shave of the Brave event is because of you, and we are grateful for your generous hearts.
As of today, participants and donors have raised $182,154, but the fundraising isn’t over. The community is still finding ways to raise funds and help researchers find better treatments. If you would like to support our event, an individual or a team to reach their fundraising goal, click here. The 2019 grand total of money raised for childhood cancer research will be announced in July when the event officially wraps up.
Remember – childhood cancer research helps adults too! According to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation “Much of what we know about treating adult cancers has been learned from childhood cancer research. Some aspects of cancer treatment today, such as combination chemotherapy, can be traced to pediatric cancer research.”
Fundraising for our Shave for the Brave event is unique because of the head-shaving element. Participants collect donations and pledges to reach their goal, then they step onto the big stage and a barber shaves their head. Many participants shave in memory or in honor of a family member, friend, coworker or another inspirational individual – some participants are cancer survivors themselves.
Our first head-shaving event for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation took place in 2006. We shaved 61 heads and raised $86,399 for childhood cancer research. Since our first event, we have seen significant advances in childhood cancer research and treatments available. Today, about 90% of kids with the most common type of cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, will live and join the growing population of long-term childhood cancer survivors.
Last year, our Shave for the Brave event was the 16th highest revenue-raising event (out of 1,081 events) for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. And with our help, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation was able to give more than 140 grants to some of the best childhood cancer researchers in the world in 2018. This included more than 230 institutions conducting 116 clinical trials for children with cancer.
We chose the St. Baldrick’s Foundation because they focus solely on childhood cancer research. Their mission is to find cures for childhood cancers and to give survivors long and healthy lives. They are the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants and give kids nationwide access to the very latest in research and clinical trials. They are also great at reviewing grants and only fund the very best in childhood cancer research.
It is part of our mission at NNCCF to advocate for increased research funds, which also includes us doing our own fundraising for childhood cancer research. While we are able to enhance the quality of life for children with cancer in northern Nevada by providing financial assistance and compassionate support programs, we also support the research that will help them beat cancer.
For more pictures of Shave for the Brave 2019, check out our album on Facebook.
On March 26, 2019, Ivy, a 14-year-old childhood cancer survivor, walked on the steps of Capitol Hill embarking on a two-day advocacy effort with a group of representatives from the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation (NNCCF). NNCCF travels each year to the Hill because advocating is critical for research funding to improve treatments and find a cure. It is a big step towards establishing childhood cancer as a national priority.
Ivy was diagnosed at the age of 5 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and completed treatment in May of 2012. She was diagnosed with the most common type of childhood cancer but had the least common journey with treatment. Ivy is part of the 1% of children worldwide who experience an adverse effect from the therapy – she lost the use of her legs and was told she would never walk again.
In January of 2013, Ivy had surgery on her legs and her family made additional efforts for her health. After three years of requiring a wheelchair, surgery, other efforts and therapies, she regained her strength and was able to walk again.
Ivy motivated representatives and legislators during Childhood Cancer Action Days as she stood alongside them advocating for other children like her, “It felt amazing to meet our state legislators on Capitol Hill,” said Ivy. “It also felt incredible to tell my story to them, so that I could help so many kids just like me!”
“It was inspiring to watch our 14-year-old advocate, Ivy, bravely share her story of surviving treatment and side effects. She is a wonderfully healthy young woman with a bright future,” said Shirley Folkins-Roberts, NNCCF executive director. “Watching her and her older sister, Keely, passionately advocate for better treatment for children was magical.”
Keely not only joined the efforts on Capitol Hill as a sibling of a child with cancer, but she also joined as an intern at NNCCF, “Through my sister’s treatment and this internship, I have been able to meet hundreds of kids and families affected by childhood cancer. I kept them in mind all throughout the day, and when it was appropriate I shared my experiences,” she said.
Keely explained to lawmakers how a childhood cancer diagnosis can affect the whole family, “I shared what it was like to be a sibling of a child with cancer, and how difficult it was to have one parent living at the hospital with my sister.” She described that there are “many other kids out there whose childhood experience is severely affected by their sibling’s cancer diagnosis.”
Since 2006, NNCCF has traveled to Washington D.C. close to 20 times to lead the charge in bringing awareness to underfunded research. In the last couple of years, NNCCF has joined the ranks of the Alliance for Childhood Cancer to urge Congress to appropriate more funding for pediatric cancer research.
The Alliance for Childhood Cancer urged three requests for Congress to support:
“Tonight, I am also asking you to join me in another fight that all Americans can get behind: the fight against childhood cancer. Many childhood cancers have not seen new therapies in decades,” said President Trump. “My budget will ask the Congress for $500 million over the next 10 years to fund this critical life-saving research.”
NNCCF’s representatives this year included siblings Ivy and Keely, Shirley Folkins-Roberts, the executive director of NNCCF, Shaemus McCrory, the president of the NNCCF board of directors, and Carol Truman, an NNCCF board member and grandmother of childhood cancer angel, Pierce Phillips. The trip was graciously funded by the Heath Foundation, a long-standing supporter of NNCCF’s programs and advocacy efforts.
Childhood Cancer Action Days 2019 was Folkins-Roberts’ 13th trip to Washington D.C. as an advocate for children with cancer. Over the years she has seen growing Congressional support for childhood cancer research.
“Our efforts have helped legislators realize the importance of exciting research and have moved funding up on their list of priorities,” said Folkins-Roberts. “I feel that the legislators and staff truly listened to our request to fund the STAR Act again in the 2020 budget, and it is vital that our community continues to communicate this priority.”
In the past weeks since NNCCF visited the Hill, House and Senate leaders of both Republican and Democratic parties have pledged to provide increases in funding for both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). There are 35 Senators that signed the appropriation letter seeking support for the STAR Act asking the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide $30 million in funding.
According to the Alliance for Childhood Cancer, “Our feedback from the Hill is proving that our message was heard and that Congress is already working to make Childhood Cancer funding a top national priority.” The last step to reinforce support is to thank legislators and encourage them to continue helping children with cancer.
Connecting our families, young adults, adolescents, and kids of all ages to facilitate relationships has always been a dream of the founders and staff at NNCCF. This year, the challenge of physical interaction at our monthly events has made this goal more difficult to achieve. But, we have come up with new and creative ways to connect our youngest cancer warriors. Drive through events such as our Halloween Costume party, Spring Fling basket pick-up and Inspire Scholarship ceremony allow families to get out and have some fun with our staff and other families from a distance. Of course our drive through bell ringing ceremonies have been exciting this year as well. On a warm summer evening, NNCCF and Peterbilt also hosted a drive-in movie for our families.
Our children and young adults have also formed relationships this year supporting each other through the cancer journey. At our Know the Gold Radiothon in February we were inspired by the bond and friendship three young women formed through their mutual cancer experiences. Pictured here is cancer survivor and new member of Renown Oncology nursing staff, Haley, supporting her friends in the fight, UNR students, Emma and Katie. High school sophomore, cancer advocate and survivor, Ivy, enjoyed helping Felina play a game at the Radiothon. The comradery that these experiences create and the opportunity to build friendships with other childhood cancer warriors can be so valuable during their very challenging journeys.
On February 19th we celebrated the 10th annual Know the Gold Radiothon hosted by Scheel’s with our partners at Cumulus Media. The event marked a special occasion, as it was the finale to the six month long Know the Gold fundraising campaign with a goal of $500,000 to be matched by the William N. Pennington Foundation. Our supporters topped all records and exceeded the goal by $55,000, thanks to the last minute additional matching goal from Panattoni Development and Alston Construction.
Know the Gold is a grass roots community fundraising campaign made of up over 1500 small and large donations. This year it included funds from virtual events like wine tastings, mask sales, golf tournaments, Doorstep Discos, and more! We cannot thank this incredible community enough for all they do to support us and each of you who helped us reach and exceed our goal!
www.nvchildrenscancer.org/KnowtheGold
Kelly Stoll, Programs and Services Coordinator
One of the first smiles our families see at NNCCF is that of Kelly Stoll. Kelly joined the NNCCF team 18 months ago, gracing the office and our family’s experiences with her love of theater, music, Disney and celebrations. This year, Kelly has helped create alternative opportunities for our families to get out of the house with a safe and fun option, including a drive-in movie night at Peterbilt. Kelly makes family support a top priority and will go to great lengths to make sure a family has the resources they need. Thank you Kelly for the sunshine that you bring to the NNCCF Team and our families.
Baseball and sports fans alike had a special experience as award winning San Francisco Giants broadcasters Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Jon Miller, and Dave Flemming shared stories and memories on a virtual stage February 10th. Our very own, Kristen Remington, 2 News Evening Anchor, emceed the evening. Adding to the line-up was San Francisco Giant, multiple World Series champion and MVP catcher, Buster Posey and his wife, Kristen. Both the Posey family and the Giants organization helped promote the virtual event appealing to fans in Nevada as well as the Bay Area.
Over 300 fans had fun and were entertained in the comfort of their homes while raising much needed funds and awareness for pediatric cancer. A Giant Event for Childhood Cancer will benefit NNCCF and local children, along with supporting childhood cancer research through the Posey Family Research Grants. Save the date for our live in-person event November 10th, 2021.
Tournament of Hope, Golf Tournament – September 20th
Dozers & Dirt – September 25th
A Giant Event for Childhood Cancer – November 10th
All In for Childhood Cancer, Poker Tournament – Date TBD
Alston Construction • Ames Construction • Bonanno Concrete • Desert Fire Protection • Ferroni Foundation • Granite Construction • Heath Foundation • JAG Plumbing • LP Insurance Services • MDB Trucking • MNG Partners • Oxborrow Trucking and Landscape Materials • Panattoni Development • Panelized Structures • Patriot Contractors, LLCR • HP Mechanical Systems • Sierra Nevada Construction • Tectonics Design Group • The Medical Profession • The Phillips Family Foundation • Vasko • Victory Woodworks • Western Nevada Transport
On April 27, 2021, NNCCF helped make a difference in childhood cancer funding and research by participating in the virtual 2021 Childhood Cancer Action Day with the Alliance for Childhood Cancer. We joined more than 250 advocates from 37 states to ask Congress to fully fund the STAR Act, the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill in history, for the fourth straight year.
Due to our collective efforts and advocacy, the House Appropriations Committee set aside $80 million for childhood cancer research programs in 2022 which fully funds the STAR Act. It is a huge step in the federal funding process and we will continue to make childhood cancer a national priority.
NNCCF staff and families virtually met with members and staffers in the healthcare jurisdiction to urge this support. In attendance were NNCCF survivor Kalia and her mom Jenna, survivor Landen and his parents Debbie and Craig, Tiffany, a mother of survivor Felina, and survivor Katie and her mother Lynn. NNCCF was able to meet with Rep. Amode staff, Rep. Lee, Sen. Cortez Masto and Sen. Rosen staff.
During the meetings, Debbie, Landen’s mother, urged representatives to continue support, “Please help us fight this plague that is cancer and give our children promise for a better life; allow them to grow and fulfill their dreams,” she said.
Landen was diagnosed with and aggressive bone and soft tissue tumor in February 2020. During ten months of intense treatment a small list of what he endured included 34 weeks of chemotherapy, 28 radiation treatments, more than 12 blood transfusions, five surgeries, five months with an open wound on his shoulder and four emergency trips to the E.R.
“Landen is a fighter. He is the epitome of grace, strength, and courage, he is our hero. And he, like all other children impacted by this horrible disease, deserves a future,” said Debbie.
1 out of 264 children will be diagnosed with childhood cancer in the United States, before the age of 20, and because of the treatments they received, by age 50, more than 99% of childhood cancer survivors have a chronic health problem and 96% have severe or life-threatening conditions.
“We cringe every time Landen’s oncologist reminds us that due to his treatment Landen at 16-years-old has the heart of a 35 to 40 year old,” said Debbie. “Federal funding for databases and research is so important for these children with these rare diseases. Without this funding doctors will continue to simply prescribe the same toxic treatment that fails to save enough children and leaves those that do survive with lasting effects.”
On June 5, 2018, the STAR Act, was signed into law. In the last three years, Congress provided $30 million each year to fund the programs created by the STAR Act. The STAR Act stands for: Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access and Research. “It expands opportunities for childhood cancer research, improves efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences, and enhances the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors,” said the Alliance for Childhood Cancer.
NNCCF recognized the need for more advocacy and research to find a cure and has advocated at each Childhood Cancer Action Day on Capitol Hill since 2006.
Both are survivors of childhood cancer. Both are recipients of Help, Hope, and Courage from the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation (NNCCF).
Jonathon survived childhood leukemia; Evelyn has neuroblastoma. Just after her first birthday, Evelyn started to display signs of regression in milestones. Children her age would normally be sitting up, playing, crawling, and moving around on their own. After visits to her pediatrician and local hospitals, an MRI eventually revealed a 3.5-inch tumor inside Evelyn’s spinal column in her lower back.
“It’s kind of strange. Having gone through what I did, I was almost expecting something like this to happen to my child. Even before she was born, I considered the possibility of something like this occurring. When things started going wrong, cancer was the first thing my mind went to,” said Jonathon.
The NNCCF team was there to provide financial and emotional support to help Jonathon and his young family navigate the uncertainty of Evelyn’s cancer journey, just as they had for Jonathon’s mother when he was diagnosed.
Evelyn is now a happy little two-year-old girl, running, jumping, and riding bikes with her older brother. She’s also a big sister now and shares her gentleness and bright personality with her baby sister.
“Because we had such a wonderful family and NNCCF behind us, we didn’t have to worry about anything but Evelyn and making her healthy. I believe that really had a major impact on her quick recovery as we were able to stay fully focused on healing as a family.”
[button text=”View the full Annual Report here” link=”https://www.nvchildrenscancer.org/wp-content/uploads/NNCCF_2021-Annual-Report-for-web-1.pdf”]
By Natalie Van Hoozer
NNCCF supporters, thank you all for calling, attending, and volunteering at our Know the Gold Radiothon on Friday, January 29. The energy was wonderful, and it is events like this one that help us motivate the community to make a difference in the fight against children’s cancer.
We would like to offer a special shout-out to Cumulus Broadcasting and their DJ’s for coming out to promote us. In addition to their help on the airwaves, it is wonderful to see the DJs in-person, in headsets, reporting on the event.
Speaking of people who came to Scheels, it was absolutely wonderful to have the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Executive Staff join us. When they and representatives of the Reno Bighorns, including Bighorns mascot Bruno, were there together, things really got going! Everyone stopped to watch the “Dial for Dollars.”
Wondering what that is? Our wonderful community partners made phone calls while riding the super awesome Ferris wheel to raise funds!
On top of that, we had volunteers hard at work running the phone banks and receiving online donations ALL DAY! We even had some local groups like sororities come out and support us by helping to make hand-drawn cards!
All of these combined efforts helped us to earn $128,950.71, and the William N. Pennington Foundation matched $120,000! We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Conway Communications, Cumulus Broadcasting, Scheels, and Crown Beverages; without their support, this event would not have been possible!
During the month of June, our Executive Director here at NNCCF, Debbie Strickland, and some members of NNCCF families traveled to Washington D.C. for the Childhood Cancer Action Days. Here is why they went and what Debbie had to say about the trip:
What happens on Childhood Cancer Action Days?
“Each year we advocate for research appropriations, we need money,” Debbie said. “We always bring a family, we talk about how access to health is difficult, we talk about treatment, we talk about research.” Debbie also said that bringing a NNCCF family to Washington D.C. helps get the attention of politicians by “shaking their core” and reminding the politicians that childhood cancer affects real people and real families.
Here, Debbie (far left) and other NNCCF and Nevada representatives meet with Nevada Senator Dean Heller during Childhood Cancer Action Days.
What is the #StepUp initiative?
As stepupforchildhoodcancer.com states, the social media hashtag “#StepUp” encourages all kinds of people, from those involved with cancer organizations to community members, to advocate for more childhood cancer research funding. In particular, organizations like NNCCF are asking for people to “step up” and put support behind the STAR Act.
What is the STAR Act?
Survival, Treatment, Access,and Research is what “STAR” stands for. The Act has yet to be formally introduced pending strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate to ensure that it will be in the strongest position to be voted into law.
This act is asking for all of the currently “fragmented” data about childhood cancer to be put together, to be compiled nationally. Data is available for all different kinds of childhood cancers like brain tumors, leukemia, and others, but the data has not been assessed as a whole. Specifically, baselines need to be set and understood for things like overall childhood cancer survival rates and how different childhood cancers compare to each other. This will help researchers and those wanting to create legislation better understand how the nation needs to fight childhood cancer. Once this happens, asking for research funding will be more efficient and more compelling than asking for money is right now, with research statistics and data scattered in different states and with different organizations. In essence, creating one, unified data and research effort will help to further the research cause for all types of childhood cancer.
What is the reason people lack awareness and education about the need for childhood cancer research?
Debbie answered, “If you’re looking at numbers in comparison to adult cancers, it’s a small percentage.”
With this in mind, Debbie believes that the government will hear out the largest entity, which, in this case, is adult cancer research. For groups like us, this is an important obstacle. As Debbie said, “Our numbers are small, but we don’t want our voice to go away.” For this reason, having a presence each year in Washington D.C. is important. Meeting with politicians is vital to display the passion and support that back the childhood cancer cause.
What can people do to improve awareness and education about childhood cancer research?
Debbie said, “It’s a beautiful thing that we’re in our state with a lot of our representatives. If you’re down in Carson City eating at a local restaurant, it’s likely that one of our senators is going to be sitting next to you.” Because of this proximity to our legislators, Debbie stressed the importance of letting those politicians know that groups like NNCCF have an impact in our community. If you see a politician. Don’t hesitate to bring up issues like the STAR Act, childhood cancer, or even NNCCF. It is important to let those politicians know that childhood cancer matters in the Northern Nevada community.
NNCCF would like to thank Barrick GOld for making this Washington D.C. trip possible.
Sofia, dressed in a black and pink ensemble with teased hair and “Girls can change the world” top, was nervous before she took a step onto the runway.
She’s a ten-year-old retinoblastoma survivor and showed the crowd what it looks like to be an inspiring cancer survivor.
“It was a good nervous,” said Sofia. “I knew a few minutes later, millions of – oh not that many people – lots of people would be staring at me.”
The 10th annual Runway for Life Fashion Show was last Sunday at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno. Mom’s on the Run included childhood cancer survivors in a runway event to support women diagnosed with breast and gynecological cancers.
The fashion show empowers women and children alike to be confident in their own skin. Sofia enjoyed being a part of the fashion show and her favorite part was being cheered for.
“It made me feel like I mattered,” said Sofia.
Sofia was diagnosed with retinoblastoma a couple weeks before her second birthday and lost her left eye from cancer. She has had three prosthetic eyes and has re-sizing appointments to keep up with her growth spurts.
Desiree, Sofia’s mother, explains the importance of inspiring self-confidence in her daughter as she gets older and nears going into tomiddle school.
“We fight extra hard to instill confidence in her and tell her that her physical effects from cancer are marks of strength and beauty,” said Desiree. “The blessing is that she is learning early that everyone has ‘something’ that is hard for them, hers just happens to be on her face.”
The Runway for Life Fashion Show is an example of a positive atmosphere inspiring community support.
“It’s incredible to have an experience where she can tangibly feel the truth of those statements,” said Desiree. “She gets a chance to feel beautiful and celebrated exactly the way she is, prosthetic included.”
Photo credit: Heather Gallagher Smith, Sixth Generation Studios.
On April 23, the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation (NNCCF) represented the state of Nevada on Capitol Hill in support of the STAR Act. NNCCF childhood cancer survivor, Johnny Hartman, lead the team and shared his story with legislators. In 2016, Johnny was diagnosed with Stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma and completed treatment in May of 2017. We asked him about his trip and how advocating for childhood cancer inspired him.
Q: How was training and the whole run-down on day one?
A: I thoroughly enjoyed training day. The informational sessions made me incredibly excited as I learned how extensive this bill is and how it will be beneficial to so many children and their families. Learning of the new, less-toxic treatment plans researchers are trying to perfect for all pediatric cancers made me excited for the future of immunotherapy and the extinction of chemotherapy.
Q: What was the experience like, meeting legislators on the Hill on day two?
A: The training day was fun, but meeting the legislators was something I will take with me for the rest of my life. First off, it was an honor being given the opportunity to be the voice of pediatric cancer patients across Northern Nevada, but it was profound to also express the importance of the STAR Act by letting our representatives know how essential this bill is for so many families.
Q: Who did you meet with on Capitol Hill?
A: I met with Senator Dean Heller and Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto along with their staffers. I also had the chance to meet staffers from the offices of Representative Mark Amodei and Representative Dina Titus.
Q: Who did you meet from other childhood cancer organizations and what inspiring things did you hear?
A: The training day session was not only a time for soaking up all the information of the STAR Act but also a networking opportunity. I met with other advocates from other states and got to hear of some incredibly empowering stories of other survivors as well as parents of children who have fought, fighting, or are just beginning their cancer journey. Listening to the stories of relapse, children battling cancer even before starting kindergarten, and discovering similarities of common chemotherapy drugs during each other’s treatments all made for profound connections.
Q: How was your experience seeing Capitol Hill and Washington D.C. as a whole?
A: As a person who lives to travel, it was also another gift being able to travel to the most important city in the United States. The history, architecture, and culture of Washington, D.C. is so polarizing to that of the west coast. It was fun being immersed in a society that is a little out of my comfort zone.
Q: What was the most empowering part of the trip?
A: Ultimately, overall, being part of something that could potentially change the future of cancer care was easily the most empowering aspect of the trip.
