Angie Voloch knows first-hand what it’s like to watch a child endure toxic chemotherapy treatments. On November 4, 2014, after a year of misdiagnoses, her daughter Taylor was diagnosed with a pilocytic astrocytoma – a slow growing tumor that usually does not spread to surrounding brain tissue.
“The next morning, she had to undergo a 12-hour surgery to remove the tumor,” said Angie. “In 2016, the tumor had regrown closer to the brainstem and continued to grow, despite a year of chemo.”
Taylor had surgery again in 2018. Due to the size and location of the tumor, doctors said that she would most likely have long-term side effects. Unfortunately, this is also the case for most children diagnosed with cancer.
Through our Ultimate Hike program, advocates like Angie and Taylor are helping CureSearch fund next-generation research that will lead to safe, effective therapies for children with cancer and difficult-to-treat tumors.
Ultimate Hikes are weekend-long adventures where hikers of all fitness levels trek 20-30 miles on some of the country’s most beautiful and iconic trails, raising funds and awareness for childhood cancer research. In 2021, hikers raised more than a million dollars for lifesaving research.
Angie and Taylor’s team, Heart to Sole, will tell children’s cancer to “take a hike” on April 23 at the Foothills Trail Ultimate Hike. They each set a goal to raise $10,000 for the Ultimate Hike.
“We need new choices with less side effects because Taylor is still living with them, and always will,” said Angie. “Having her hike with me is probably one of the biggest honors. She’s excited to pay it forward and hoping to pursue a career in biochemistry to help find new treatments and a cure for childhood cancer.”
To learn more about the Ultimate Hike and find a hike near you, visit http://ultimatehike.org/.