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 Hi! I’m Peyton Phin. On September 28, 2001, when I was 15 months old, I was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). Leukemia is a malignant disease (cancer) that originates in a cell in the marrow. It is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of developing marrow cells. The unfortunate reality of my specific type of leukemia (AML) is that the survival rate is the lowest of all forms of the disease. The cause is unknown and the treatment is extremely invasive, toxic and requires long periods of hospitalization. I am one of the lucky ones – my parents brought me to the Herman & Walter Sameulson Children’s Hospital at Sinai, and after months of treatment, I have now been in remission for six years. Unfortunately, this is not the norm. Due to these facts, my daddy embarked upon a mission to support both future treatment and cure of this disease.
 I’m Scott Phin, Peyton’s daddy. On that September day, I experienced a parent’s worst nightmare hearing the news that my daughter had cancer. As a father, I had to look deeply into my heart and soul and remind myself of the countless blessings in front of me. It has become my mission and purpose to express to others that having a child with a life-threatening disease can be a blessing in disguise. The thought of losing a child is heart wrenching and indescribable to those who will read this letter. As a result of being placed in this situation, I was allowed to look beyond my daughter and myself and see how I can be of service to others who inevitably will be stricken with this horrible disease. The most powerful and overwhelming feeling I experienced during Peyton’s therapy was fear. The reality of her disease is that there are no guarantees as to whether she will live or die. It is for that reason that I want to make a difference for others going through this same fear. I started the Race for Our Kids because I want everyone in our community to know that if your child is stricken with something similar to Peyton, you too can receive the same gift our family did. The gift of caring doctors and staff who so graciously helped our family deal with a most difficult time.
Join us for the Race for Our Kids. All race proceeds benefit Pediatric Oncology at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai. Over the past five years, more than $275,000 has been raised. We hope you will be part of our success this year so that we can continue to help kids like Peyton beat cancer.
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