IN AWE OF KASIE
Kasie beat cancer, but it took a toll on her childhood experience. She started the organization Kasie Helpz Kidz to provide support to kids fighting cancer, transforming her adversity into an opportunity to improve the lives of others (quite fitting, then, that she rocks our Transformation Necklace). We are in AWE of her benevolence and encourage you to learn more about her organization through the links below.
IN HER WORDS
"It was finally time for me to define this experience instead of letting it define me & after years, it was time to finally start SURVIVING." #micdrop
"Cancer isn’t a game so I cringe when I hear the terms “winning and losing.” We are all survivors and fighters."
"I'll tell you one thing, cancer... You may have raided my body before, but I kicked your a** and you'll never touch my spirit."
ABOUT KASIE
Traveler || Cancer Fighter (X2) || Cancer Free for 7 Years! || Founder/CEO KHKidz & Love Helpz
MY STORY
Cancer touched my life a little over 7 years ago, and it didn't just go away once I got rid of it. Cancer is something that will always have an impact on my life and future. I could sit here and go on about all the negative things that it has done to me, my health, and how it completely took away my childhood.
But 7 years later, as I think of all the ways cancer has changed my life, what first comes to mind is everything but those negative things; instead, it's all the amazing organizations I have been able to become a part of, all the inspiring, kind-hearted people that I have had the privilege to meet, and it’s the courage and determination that I now have after fighting cancer, to help other children and young adults going through the life threatening illness.
This is the story behind Kasie Helpz Kidz, and what gave me the drive and determination to develop a non-profit helping children with cancer. Our Kidz range from ages 0-19, and we strive to continuously provide them with a strong support system, as well as their guardians, during and after their courageous battle against cancer.
NO WINNERS OR LOSERS
Cancer isn't a game so I cringe when I hear the terms "winning and losing". We all have our own opinions but in my mind we are all survivors and fighters. What does survivor mean to me? For years I was letting cancer completely take over my life, it was the the topic of a first conversation with someone I had never met before & it was the fear that I would have every night before I went to sleep.
Every moment in my life that I thought I was finally getting a break from it, it seemed like it was time for another yearly scan or it was taking the life of a loved one. For me, medicine and hospital stays were only a small part of this fight, most of it has been feelings...feelings of being scared, helpless, sad, happy...just lots & lots of different feelings...it was realizing that the most important things in life...well they aren't even really things at all & instead they are moments & relationships. Just a few months ago, I needed a break, for me. I needed to just sit and think, & remember my purpose again.
We all go through these traumas, these hard times, no matter what it is but it's how we handle it and how we grow from them that matter. This doesn't mean that you are expected to write a book or change the world, sometimes it's just silence, sometimes it's something small, and thats okay. So these few months have been the silence I needed.
After finding a mass last year in my neck and feeling like I was completely losing control of my body, my mind, & my soul, I needed to remind myself that I had the choice to take control. It was finally time for me to define this experience instead of letting it define me & after years, it was time to finally start SURVIVING. #micdrop
KASIE’S 11TH “CANCERVERSARY”
Today marks my 11th "cancerversary". I read this post that I wrote last year. A lot has happened this past year but today, forever, will always be a reminder of the impact this disease had on my life and has on so many people. "11 years.... It's a huge personal milestone, because there were days when I didn't think I'd make it this far. I look back to this day 11 years ago and could replay it as if it happened yesterday.
I remember the conversation I had with the anesthesiologist as he put me to sleep for my first surgery, that would last much longer than expected. I remember the tone of my mom's scared voice as she told me the news, and I remember the exact feeling of pain that I had while lying in the hospital bed and having to be poked every single hour of the day and night.
I remember the smell of the chemicals coming out of my body as I sat in isolation alone throwing up all throughout the night. I remember all these things very vividly that happened 11 years ago; I've lost friends and witnessed thousands of kidz suffer because of this disease. It's the exact reason I am so passionate about raising awareness about childhood cancer and helping each family that has to go through this.
CONNECT WITH KASIE
