It was an honor to moderate the spring CURE Childhood Cancer ladies luncheon, featuring two amazing young cancer survivors. The luncheon, hosted at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Buckhead, is a gathering of like-minded CURE supporters, who enjoy a chance to connect to the cause: Funding cures for cancer in children and supporting families on their journey. Katie Rutherford and Peyton Gully, both fought cancer when they were just 15 years old. Today they bravely shared their stories of heartache, triumph and superhuman strength.
Katie bravely fought rhabdomyosarcoma and Peyton heroically fought leukemia, both kinds, TWICE.
Katie shared about how when she was diagnosed she was most worried about her Mom. She also told the story of her surprise 16th birthday party and how special her friends were in helping her find strength through her battle. She also binge-watched "The Office" to keep her mind off the effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
Peyton told the story about how she got really into Stranger Things while she was in the hospital for her cancer treatment and then to her surprise... Millie Bobby Brown showed up in person to meet her on her 16th birthday!
Both of these amazing young women have graduated college and are turning their pain into purpose. Peyton graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and has become a nurse. She serves patients in rehabilitation and patients undergoing bone marrow transplants, just like the two she survived. Katie attended Valdosta State and now works for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta as a program coordinator, responsible for implementing programs to benefit the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Center. Katie is involved with fundraising for the foundation to support the same oncology doctors and nurses who saved her life.
I want to acknowledge these women for their strength in sharing their stories today... It is NOT easy to revisit these moments of fighting cancer. It can be very emotional and bring up feelings that we all would rather forget! I want to say thank you to Katie and Peyton for bringing us inside your life stories in order to further highlight the need for CURE Childhood Cancer and the incredible research they are funding and the support they offer to families. THANK YOU!!
If you'd like to learn more about how to support CURE, visit https://curechildhoodcancer.org/
If you want to connect with me about childhood cancer fundraising and support, email jenn.hobby@audacy.com
With love, Jenn
P.S. Small world stories - Peyton was my daughter Reese's camp counselor one summer at Aurora Day Camp! Katie is on the team planning Ring The Bell Benefit with us this year! How cool is that?!?!?