Billings, Open Your Heart to Support a Sick Child

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding and challenging things I have ever done. 

The love I have for my children is so deep I just can't explain it.  

I don't think you can truly understand unless you are a parent.  With that said, I can't even imagine the feeling you have when you are told your sweet little child is deathly ill with a horrible cancer.

That is just what has happened to Brooklyn Mayer's parents, Eric and Devin. 

On December 28th, 4-year-old Brooklyn was diagnosed with Wilms' tumor, a rare childhood cancer.

Brooklyn and her parents have traveled to Salt Lake City and will have to go back and forth from Billings to Salt Lake for chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

Here are some facts on Wilms' tumor from the Dana Farber-Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorder Centers.

• Wilms' tumor is the most common type of renal (kidney) cancer in children, accounting for about 6 percent of all childhood cancers.
• About 500 children in the United States are diagnosed with a Wilms' tumor each year.
• Wilms' tumor can occur at any age between infancy and age 15, but is most common in children age 5 or younger. Adults rarely have Wilms' tumor.
• The tumor can spread outside the kidney, most often to the abdominal lymph nodes and lungs.
• With prompt and aggressive treatment, Wilms' tumor is successfully treated in the majority of children. Multidisciplinary approaches, including a combination of surgery, and/or chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy can be used.

On February 11th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Pizza Ranch of Billings is donating 20 percent of the sales and all of the tips towards helping Brooklyn and her family. 

Pizza Ranch is located at 2505 King Avenue W. in Billings.

There will also be a silent auction.

If you would like to make donation, you can click here.

If you choose one night in February to go out and eat dinner, please make it Thursday, February 11th and make it at Pizza Ranch of Billings and help support this family in their journey.