“Helping Hands for Cancer” was started in 2002, when Kayla (shown in the photo left) was an 11-year old girl in the 6th grade battling leukemia. Today, Kayla has graduated from Berlin High School, and on May 13, 2008 reached a huge milestone – as Kayla celebrated “5-Years Cancer Free!”

From Small to Walking Tall
It Takes a Community of Helping Hands

When you talk to 18-year-old Kayla Smith today, you’ll find she’s a hopeful, spirited young woman with a mature-beyond-her-years sense of wisdom. She speaks with all the confidence of a person who has faced adult-sized health troubles from an early age. Clearly, Kayla is a strong individual who takes nothing for granted.

But seven years ago, when Kayla first learned she had leukemia, you would have found a scared, disbelieving 11-year-old kid. There’s no doubt that such a shocking diagnosis would test the courage of most adults, let alone a girl not old enough to watch a PG-13 movie. But for Kayla, the disheartening news marked a major turning point in her young life.