ROANOKE, Va. – Research is underway to help children battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer, funded exclusively by money raised in memory of Rowan Price.
This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, you don’t have to go too far to find tributes in honor of Rowan.
There are signs in front of businesses, yellow ribbons in yards and Roanoke’s Wells Fargo tower was lit up gold.
A year after the 4-year-old died from acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, her legacy is living on in much more impactful ways.
“It’s heartwarming and it is so meaningful to see that we have hopefully made a difference,” said Rowan’s mom, Mandy Price.
Research in Rowan’s honor is now underway at the University of California San Francisco to help children battling AML.
Right now, AML testing is very limited, often showing no signs of leukemia post-treatment in children who end up relapsing. That’s what happened to Rowan and that’s what this research is trying to change by developing a groundbreaking test that’s 100-times more sensitive than what’s currently available.
“It could’ve meant more life for her instead of death, which is what we want to do. We want to save the next child, stand up to the cancer, fund research that will make a difference in a child’s life and a family’s life,” said Price.
A promise for progress is what the Price family made after running into roadblocks caused by a lack of funding, and in turn, research.
The Rowan Strong community helped the RowOn 4 a Cure Hero Fund through St. Baldrick’s raise enough money to fully fund this research grant, more than $59,000 and counting.
“Rowan was just 4 years old but she made a huge impact and to know that she’s still remembered and she’s still inspiring people and that her death and our grief now has purpose, it just means a lot,” Price said.
The Price family continues raising money to fund even more childhood cancer research.
Click here to donate.