Rachel loves math and reading and is an excellent artist. Lately, she’s also been improving at swimming and wheelchair basketball – things she might not have been able to do since her cancer diagnosis.

Rachel’s family thought she had sprained her ankle at first, but then an X-ray uncovered a tumor in her tibia and fibula. She had Ewing sarcoma. She ended up needing nine months of chemotherapy, an above-the-knee amputation and six weeks of radiation treatment. Today, she has a prosthetic leg, but no evidence of disease!

Rachel is a hero to her family because she always remains true to herself. “She is real,” said her mom, Marcy. “She cries and is mad and then she keeps pushing through treatment and obstacles no matter what.” Rachel’s family hopes that Rachel will be forever free from cancer and that she will overcome her disability to live a long and productive life.

Marcy also wants those who may also be facing a childhood cancer diagnosis to know that while the treatment seems impossible when you look at it, just take it one day, one minute, one second at a time. There is hope.

“It’s special that Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation exists and that something as American as a lemonade stand in a front yard can be the way we find a cure for cancer,” said Marcy.

Information provided by Marcy W., Rachel’s mom
Updated August 2024