Lisa’s Story

In July 2001, Lisa noticed a lump on the top of her hand that was about the size of half a marshmallow. A week later, she had a matching one on the palm of the same hand. On September 12, 2001, she was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and deadly pediatric cancer.

She spent the next three and a half years battling the disease that would eventually take her life. Lisa was buried on Valentine's Day 2005, at age 19.

During her fight, she participated in several grueling clinical trials, knowing that they would only help future kids with cancer and their doctors, not herself.

At a time when most teenage girls were picking out prom dresses and applying to colleges, Lisa was determined to make her life and death have an impact, through the clinical trials and by creating this foundation to empower other kids to help cure cancer. It was her hope that the foundation would provide support for pediatric cancer research and ultimately find a cure.

See a slideshow of Lisa's life here (requires QuickTime).

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