SOLID-GOLD SUPPORT
Teen battling cancer raises research bucks to aid others
Norwell middle schooler Nikki Schindler, 13, endured 30 days of intense radiation and six months of brutal chemo while battling an aggressive form of brain cancer.
But her work didn’t stop there: The teen has raised $7,000 toward research aimed at wiping out childhood cancer deaths in the next 20 years.
“I saw a lot of kids pass away from different types of cancers,” Nikki told the Herald. “I decided I wanted to do something about it.”
After going to the doctor for persistent headaches, Nikki was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in March 2015.
Community members the Schindlers call “angels on earth” donated $5,000 to the family when Nikki’s mother, Maureen, was forced to quit her job.
But Nikki had bigger plans for the funds.
“I don’t want the money,” Nikki told her parents. “I want to put it back into research.”
So she gave the money to the Massachusetts General Hospital pediatric cancer program where she was receiving treatment.
Then, last month, Nikki provided the program with an additional $7,000 she raised by selling “GO FOR GOLD” shirts she designed herself. The shirts, she said, refer to gold ribbons, which have become a symbol for pediatric cancer awareness.
“It’s one of the least-funded cancers,” her father, Jerry, said. “We’re just trying to help spread the word and awareness about the disease. There’s less money, so there’s less research and less awareness.”
Only about 4 percent of federal cancer funding goes toward the study of childhood cancer, which affects about 12,500 children in the U.S. every year, according to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Since 1980, fewer than 10 drugs have been developed to treat youth-related cancers.
“There isn’t enough money available for adult cancer research and certainly not for pediatric cancer research,” said Dr. David Ebb, pediatric oncologist at MGH. “If you look at the number of kids with cancer, it’s a tiny number. Of course, the impact of those diagnoses needs to be looked at.”
Ebb called Nikki an “outgoing, sweet kid,” who was able to focus on helping others despite the hardships she endured with her own treatment.
“While she struggled and was upset with all she had to contend with, she decided to think about how not only how she could help herself recover, but also how she could help other people,” Ebb said. “She looked beyond herself, which is really quite remarkable.”