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My daughter, Kayla DeFeo was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on February 15, 2006 at the age of 2, just 9 days after celebrating her birthday with her twin, Shannon, and big sister, Jessica. She was a "slow early responder" and went through 12 months of intense chemotherapy.   In March of 2007, she entered the “maintenance” phase. Her hair grew back, there were fewer clinic visits and hospital stays and life started to return to “normal”.

Sadly, Kayla relapsed in April of 2008. She was only two months from completing her chemotherapy treatment. After she relapsed, she received even more intensive chemotherapy. We spent several months in the hospital with only a few weeks home at a time. She received a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor in August of 2008. During those long stays, I met families of children with all forms of cancer that require intense treatment. These children receive treatment on an inpatient basis and spend months in the hospital.

After Kayla relapsed, I was completely overwhelmed with a desire to make a difference and somehow make sense of what had happened to us. Being a single mom and knowing first-hand the challenges of a long-term hospital stay, I decided I really wanted to provide families with practical gifts to help off-set some of the daily expenses associated with a hospital stay. In addition, since I had met so many children with other forms of cancer I wanted to provide funding for research related to all different forms of pediatric cancer.

The reality of childhood cancer is devastating. Together we can make a difference.


                                                                               - Debra DeFeo Formica
                                                                                 President and Founder