Megan was a typical 8th grader involved in basketball, volleyball, the theater program, and an active social life.  She loved to be with her family, and especially enjoyed spending time with her sister, Mackenzie and her pets. She had just finished her basketball season and was about two weeks into volleyball season when her entire life, and the life of our family was turned upside down.

On Christmas Day, 2014, we discovered a bump on Megan’s left forearm.  Since it was Christmas we didn’t want to make a huge issue of it, but in the back of our minds, we were very concerned.  The very next morning we took her to her pediatrician who examined her with a very concerned look on her face.  I could also see in Megan’s eyes how scared she was.  Her doctor called me into the next room and told me the words that no parent ever wants to hear when she said she was certain that my beautiful 13-year-old daughter had some form of advanced cancer.  At that moment, I felt like I couldn’t even breath.

We immediately took Megan to the hospital where she was met by a pediatric oncologist.  After three days of being scanned, poked and prodded, Megan’s oncologist told her that she had Stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, which is a very rare and aggressive form of soft tissue childhood cancer.   We were all devastated, but our shy little 13-year-old girl stood strong in the face of this adversity and declared her determination to beat this awful disease.

Throughout the seven years and two months that Megan fought childhood cancer she never backed down as she endured five relapses resulting in over 150 weeks of toxic chemotherapy treatments, 200 radiation treatments, 8 surgeries, five stints in the ICU, and brutal physical and mental side effects from treatment too numerous to list.

Although Megan was going through so much personal mental and physical trauma at the hands of this terrible disease, she decided to make a conscious choice.  She had every excuse to sit back and feel sorry for herself, but instead, she decided to do something.  She decided to make a difference.  She discovered that childhood cancer research is woefully underfunded as the large pharmaceutical companies ignore childhood cancer because they don’t see this rare disease as profitable.  The Federal Government does no better as the National Institute of Health allocates only 4% of their total cancer research budget towards researching less toxic and more effective treatments for childhood cancer.

Megan decided this was unacceptable as she was tired of watching her fellow childhood cancer warriors suffer and ultimately pass away with very few treatment options.  She started reaching out to her State and Federal legislators, and she held personal meetings with each of them to advocate for her cause.  When that didn’t get her what she wanted, she started to research promising childhood cancer research throughout the country, and at the time of her passing she had raised nearly $1 million dollars to fully fund five different childhood cancer research projects at Luries Children’s Hospital in Chicago and the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute in Oregon.

She also became a national spokesperson for childhood cancer advocacy as she spoke at numerous local events, led marches in Washington, D.C. and even spoke twice in front of the U.S. Capital building.

Eventually, as this terrible disease does to far too many other children, Megan passed away on March 9, 2022.  During her final two months, she could barely talk, couldn’t eat on her own, and could not get out of bed.  Amazingly, she still never complained, never felt sorry for herself, and never shed a tear.  She fought with everything she had until her very last day, and the Megan’s Mission Foundation is dedicated to finishing the fight that Megan so passionately started.

The goal of the Megan’s Mission Foundation is to realize Megan’s dream of ending childhood cancer through advocacy and research.  Through our fundraising efforts, our Foundation continues to fund the most promising childhood cancer research in the country taking place at the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute.  Two of the research projects our Foundation is currently supporting at CC-TDI were originally founded and funded through Megan’s collaboration with the research facility when she was alive.  Megan always used to say that when the cure for childhood cancer is found, it will come from the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute.

Any financial support provided to our organization will go directly towards furthering Megan’s Mission of ending childhood cancer through advocacy and research.  Our Foundation is honored to continue Megan’s life and legacy, and we know that with your help, we will realize her goal of ending this terrible disease.  As Megan always said, her goal was to make sure that no other kids had to go through what she went through.  Let’s make her dream, and the dreams of so many other kids afflicted with childhood cancer, a reality.