My name is Kelli Gabel and my daughter and I have been heading up Alex's Lemonade Stands in Topeka. This will be our second year, and this is Taylor's story.
 
In December 2008, Taylor found a lump in her neck. She saw the school nurse and the nurse thought it felt like it was probably a cold that settled in a lymph node. The nurse said to keep an eye on it. A couple months went by and the lump did not go away, so we saw the doctor and Taylor was diagnosed with strep throat. After a round of antibiotics, the lump still did not go away and the decision was made to do a biopsy. On May 13, 2009 we received the call that it was Hodgkin's lymphoma.  What a terrible day. We were referred to Children's Mercy in Kansas City and the staging process began. The doctors felt that she was in the early stages and would be very treatable. Unfortunately after many scans and tests, it was determined that she was a stage 4. That was the second worst day. She began her treatment and had 4 rounds of chemotherapy, and 28 days of radiation. By December 2009 things were looking good and she was determined to be in remission. At that time, looking back, so many things had changed in our lives. My then 12-year-old was no longer innocent; instead she had endured something that a child should never have to endure. She never asked why, she always felt that it could happen to anyone, so why not her! She was strong and showed cancer who was boss - at least that is what we thought.
 
At her first 3 month check up in February 2009, the CT scan and PET scan showed "spots" that were concerning to the doctors. They were too small to biopsy, and for the next 8 months we made monthly trips to Kansas City for testing. A larger spot developed in her upper arm and they were able to biopsy that and it came back as "inconclusive."  Within a couple of weeks lumps began to form in her neck and when the biopsy was done it confirmed that the cancer had in fact returned. She began her treatment in November, had 2 rounds of chemo, 14 days of radiation and then a high dose of chemo and a bone marrow transplant. She spent 1 month in the hospital for the transplant and she is still in the recovery phase. We will not have any results until she has scans in May, but at this point she is doing well and we are hopeful.
 
Even through all of this it has been important for Taylor to volunteer to talk to kids, participate in Relay for Life, The Love, Chloe Foundation and Alex's Lemonade Stand. She has a strong will and wants to give back and help to find a cure for cancer so that other kids do not have to go through what she has had to go through.

Written by Kelli Gabel, Taylor’s Mom
April 2011