Girl survives cancer, helps create national awareness day

AURORA – Every night you will see Kennedy Bougher at the kitchen table doing homework. You will never hear her complain about it.

"I like to be able to do all the work again," she said. "(I'm) learning a lot of stuff that last year I wasn't really doing. I was just sitting at home or at the hospital."

Bone cancer kept Bougher, who is now just days away from turning 12, from going to fifth grade. She had two years of treatment and more medical procedures than she can count.

However, Bougher didn't feel so isolated when she shared her story online.

"I hear from every state," she said.

She eventually heard from countries around the world, including troops in Iraq, getting more than 1.7 million visits to her Web site.

Bougher says it showed her and her mother how wide a reach cancer has.

After seeing that, Bougher and her family had to believe there was a purpose to it all.

"I think God chose me for a reason," she said.

That belief took her mother, Stacy Moriarty, to Washington, D.C. to help start a database and encourage funding for childhood cancer.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) helped sign through the first ever national Childhood Cancer Awareness Day.

"Most people don't even think about it. They don't want to, that kids get cancer. But this is a day just to realize and help as much as you can," said Bougher.

"It can be the beginning of something huge for funding and awareness and support and education," said Moriarty.

Bougher was declared cancer free in July. Saturday, Sept.13 will mark the first National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day and there will be a party a week later to celebrate.

Through adversity, the mother and daughter say they have learned the power of that single day.

"I have a day to hug my child," said Moriarty, "and rub her head as her hair comes in."

"If I could rewind all of this and not have cancer I wouldn't because I wouldn't have met all the people and I wouldn't have had this experience to be a survivor," said Bougher.

More than 12,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and more than 40,000 children and teens are currently in treatment.

However, with a single, special day, Bougher has become more than a statistic.

Now, when she does her homework, she is studying with the eventual goal to help others and she says she is grateful for the chance to think about what she wants to be when she grows up.

"Maybe an oncologist," she said.

For more information, you can visit www.miracleparty.org. Sept. 20's celebration is at Crowne Plaza at 15000 E. 40th Ave. in Denver. It starts at 5 p.m.