Morgan Pierce, 10, eagerly invites Haley Boyd, 6, and Natalie Harrell, 8, into her home. The three girls hardly notice each other’s short hair or bald heads. Instead, they gush over floral sequins headbands and a green beanie.
It was a cancer-related play date — something the girls have grown accustomed to during their treatments and fight for survival. The girls’ diagnoses have brought them together in a unique sisterhood.
And now, they are inspiring their mothers — Emily Pierce, Cheri Boyd and Shannon Harrell — to organize a fundraising event this month, in Plant City.
“We’re just trying to save the baldies,” Shannon says. “They have so much life left to live.”
The Good Cookie 5K will take place 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, in Historic Downtown Plant City. The route will take runners through the historic district, and at the finish line, participants will enjoy music, raffle prizes, a bounce house and more.
Pierce organized Plant City’s first Good Cookie 5K last year and raised more than $3,000 for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, an organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research.
This year, with the help of Shannon, Cheri and others, she expects to top that total. Still three weeks before the event, the mothers already have raised $2,000 for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Federal funding for childhood cancer research is predominantly allocated through the National Cancer Institute. The funds are distributed to scientists working at labs, often at children’s hospitals, the Children’s Oncology Group to fund clinical trials and to labs within the NCI.
In 2007, the NCI reported that the funding for childhood cancer research was about $180 million. However, the amount allocated to other cancers was much more. For example, $572.4 million was allocated to breast cancer research that same year.
Emily, Cheri and Shannon were propelled into action by the lack of funding.
“It just shocked me how many federal dollars don’t go toward what we’re fighting,” Shannon says. “The money is not spread evenly through all types (of cancer).”
Cancer is the No. 1 cause of disease-related death in children. Childhood cancer is not a single disease but rather many different types that fall into 12 major categories. Common adult cancers are extremely rare in children, yet many cancers are almost exclusively found in children.
Shannon and Cheri first got involved in the 5K last year, when they signed up to run. After Emily saw they had signed up, she asked if they would like to help.
They both agreed.
“These moms have really, really stepped up,” Emily says. “They’ve been contacting people anyway they can — all in the midst of treatment.”
Since then, they have been busy promoting the 5K through email, social media and flyers.
“It’s hard,” Cheri says. “It’s time-consuming, but it’s worth it to me.”
“I wanted my friends to know that it was Emily doing it,” Shannon says. “That it wasn’t put on by a big organization. It’s somebody we know.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
GOOD COOKIE 5K
WHEN: 7:30 a.m. Sept. 21
WHERE: Courier Field, 703 N. Wheeler St., Plant City
REGISTRATION: active.com/running/plant-city-fl/good-cookie-5k-2013
COOKIES FOR KIDS’ CANCER
Founded in 2008 by Gretchen and Larry Witt, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer raises funds for pediatric cancer research. When the Witts’ 2-year-old, Liam, was diagnosed in 2007, with neuroblastoma, his parents were shocked to learn of the lack of effective treatments for pediatric cancers due to lack of funding. With the help of 250 volunteers, Gretchen baked and sold 96,000 cookies, raising more than $400,000 for research. For more information, visit cookiesforkidscancer.org.
HALEY BOYD
For two weeks, then-3-year-old Haley had a recurring suspicious fever between 5 and 7 p.m. Her mother knew it was out of the ordinary. When she started to get nausea along with the fever, Cheri took her to the doctor. The doctor told her it was just a virus and to keep her hydrated.
“I told them there was something wrong with my baby and that they were going to draw blood,” Cheri says. “I can always tell when something’s wrong with this one. I hate it. It scares me.”
Haley was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She endured two-and-one-half years of treatment, then she relapsed just months after treatment stopped. Last November, she also had a bone marrow transplant.
“There’s no such word as ‘cure,’ as far as our doctors are concerned,” Cheri says. “But we hope to hear it, someday.”
NATALIE HARRELL
Natalie’s cancer can’t crush her spirit. The All-Star cheerleader for Plant City’s Dance Carousel is still as peppy as ever.
It was during a cheer competition when friends started noticing that something was wrong with their beloved teammate. She was tired and didn’t want to warm up. But her family had known something was off for months. Natalie had ended up in the hospital with the flu and mono.
Eventually, doctors finally discovered a golf ball-sized tumor attached to her brain. She was scheduled for brain surgery the next morning after discovery. Her family didn’t know if she would wake up from surgery knowing who they were — or even who she was.
However, after beginning the procedure, surgeons discovered they couldn’t remove the tumor. Instead, Natalie has had to endure chemotherapy treatments. Now, Natalie has just finished her last radiation treatment. There still are remnants of the tumor left.
Later this month, the family will go in for a craniospinal MRI to determine the next course of treatment.
MORGAN PIERCE
It’s been more than four years since Morgan has been diagnosed with cancer.
At 5, Morgan complained of hip pain. Her doctor thought she just had a jarred hip joint. But a bone scan revealed every mother’s worst nightmare; an unknown mass in her abdomen.
Morgan was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that affects the sympathetic nervous system and is found primarily in children under 10 years old. Sympathetic nervous system tumors account for 7.8% of all cancers among children younger than 15.
Since then, Morgan has undergone surgery to remove the tumor and numerous chemotherapy treatments. She currently has no evidence of the disease. But, this is the fourth time she has been NED.
Morgan is undergoing hu3fa antibody therapy monthly, in New York. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer helped fund the trial.