Meet Katelyn – Retinoblastoma Warrior

"The support that our case manager at the NCCS has given to us is truly amazing," - Katelyn's mom

At only one and a half years old, Katelyn was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma. Her mother noticed a glare in one of her eyes and found it to be quite odd, but she thought she was just seeing things. Unsure about what it was, she made an appointment with a pediatric eye doctor just to be safe. After running some tests, the doctor confirmed Lora’s worst fear: her daughter had cancer. After much thought, research and speaking with families in the same situation, Lora and her family decided it was best to head to New York for treatment. “We opted to go to New York (Memorial Sloan Kettering), even though we weren’t sure how we were going to pay for it . . .we just trusted our gut and knew we had to do anything we could for our baby.” Lora said.

The social worker at Memorial Sloan Kettering referred Lora to the NCCS for assistance with the high cost of traveling back and forth to New York for treatment. “The generosity and help that they have provided to us towards the cost of the travel, the efficient process and most importantly, the support that our case manager at the NCCS has given to us is truly amazing,” said Lora.