Dakota

Dakota was first diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma when she was 4 months old.  After experiencing 2 relapses before the age of 4, she ended treatment successfully at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and is currently in their long-term survivorship program.

“There were many times my family wasn’t sure I would see Kindergarten, let alone be heading to college. But after many rounds of aggressive chemotherapy spanning 8 years, 6 major surgeries, dozens of bone marrow aspirations, multiple clinical trials, full body radiation, and a stem cell transplant, finally, in April 2014 I stopped treatment for good,” Dakota wrote in her scholarship essay.

“Although cancer complications will likely last a lifetime, I have learned to make the best out of what I went through as a child and use my experiences to help make the world more aware of this disease. My family and I run a nonprofit that supports childhood cancer families by raising money for patient and family support programs, research, and awareness.

Today Dakota is attending the University of Iowa to realize her hope of working as a pediatric oncology nurse and caring for children just like her.