Pleasant View resident Taylor Dempster, 14, has been a cancer survivor for 10 years already. When she was a small child, she was diagnosed with stage four Wilms Tumor, a quickly-spreading childhood cancer that affects the kidneys. When diagnosed on June 14, 2006, Taylor’s tumor was the size of a small football and had completely consumed her left kidney and spread to both of her lungs.
Skilled Vanderbilt surgeons removed the non-functioning kidney, lymph nodes, adrenal glands, and surrounding tissue plagued by the cancerous tumor. But that was just the beginning of her fight against childhood cancer. After her surgery, Taylor received seven months of regularly-scheduled chemo treatments and two weeks of daily radiation treatments designed to attack the cancer that had spread to her lungs.
Coming so far but never forgetting her battle, Taylor has, to date, donated a total of 45 inches of hair to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children that are going through similar situations.
Taylor, daughter of Mike and Toni Dempster, is on the dance team at Sycamore High School. She loves to dance, animals, and playing both the piano and ukulele.
“Taylor is a true miracle and a blessing,” says Toni.
In October, Taylor will be going to Vanderbilt for routine testing and scans. “Please keep her in your prayers,” her mother adds.