Meet Keaton Kiddo ~ Ashley

Meet Ashley; a positive, strong, bright 16-year old that enjoys Minecraft and art.  Ashley’s journey battling Childhood Cancer began when she was just 9 months old and diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.  Ewing’s Sarcoma is a rare cancerous tumor that grows in your bones or on the soft tissue around your bones, such as cartilage or nerves.  After winning her battle with cancer the first time, Ashley, unfortunately, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma for the second time, after 15 years.  As you can imagine, this news was devastating for Ashley and her family.  Thankfully, she has a great support system behind her and they are ready to fight their second battle against childhood cancer.

While being diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma for the second time during COVID-19, Ashley’s family has faced even more challenges and isolation.  Fortunately, they have been keeping her spirits up by decorating her hospital room, keeping in contact with friends and family through Zoom and FaceTime.  Ashley also participated in the first-ever Keaton’s Child Cancer Alliance virtual teen event.

From Ashley’s first diagnosis up to now, the family has highlighted the great support they receive from their wonderful medical team, social workers and child life specialists at Kaiser.  Her family called this unexpected experience a “strange phenomenon” but takes this journey day by day while remembering who and what they do have.  Over time, they have seen the advances in science and medical treatments and touched on how great it is to now have organizations, like Keaton’s, that are already there and willing to reach out to support the families during such a difficult time.

Since being referred to Keaton’s, our Family Navigator team has supported Ashley and her family with a financial grant, gas cards, food cards and a Hope Chest.