Callyn’s Course for Hope 2024

Callyn with diagnosed with an inoperable and aggressive form of childhood cancer called Retinoblastoma when she was 2-years-old. Her family sought specialists in eye cancer and traveled every 30 days for treatment to Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her first treatment called Intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) would begin less than two weeks after she was diagnosed. She was sedated for 8 hours to receive this treatment five times over the course of 6 months. She was deemed cancer free and would be carefully monitored every three months by going under anesthesia for a thorough exam paired with MRI’s under anesthesia.

In May of 2017, Callyn’s family learned that her cancer had returned. A new course of therapy was immediately set into action. On June 1st, 2017, she was treated with Radiation Plaque therapy, a surgical procedure where they implanted a plaque device into her eye that would deliver constant radiation to the tumor for five days. The family was quarantined, and her sibling was required to remain 6 feet away to avoid radiation exposure. The following month she was deemed cancer free. The radiation was effective, but also damaged her vision and caused many lasting side effects. Callyn has no central vision in her right eye and continues to face surgeries and therapies to repair the damage. The tumor, or what is called a “tumor scar”, will remain in her eye for the rest of her life and she will require annual evaluations to ensure it remains stable. To date, Callyn has been under anesthesia 37 times.

Callyn is now 11-years-old and is thriving! She’s a great student and enjoys playing various sports. At the time of Callyn’s relapse, her family had been planning a golf tournament to raise funds for childhood cancer research partnering with Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer. The cancer could not touch her spirit and she loves to represent Braden’s Hope in the community bringing hope to others! Callyn’s Course for Hope Golf tournament has continued to grow over the years and is the second largest fundraising event for the non-profit organization.