For Release: July 22, 2013
PALO ALTO, Calif. - 鈥淚t鈥檚 a relief that I can do what other kids do.鈥
Grace Chen, 12, of Sunnyvale, California, is discussing her recovery from childhood leukemia and the ability to go to school, hang out with friends, watch TV and just have a normal life. Well, mostly normal. There aren鈥檛 many other girls her age who can blast a golf ball 230 yards.
With 25 trophies scattered around her house, it鈥檚 obvious that Grace has the whole golf thing down. It鈥檚 been that way since she was 6 and in recovery from years of treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL, at the Bass Center for Cancer and Childhood Blood Diseases at Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford.
鈥淢y wife, Ni, and I wanted her to start doing something that would help her physically and mentally,鈥 said Grace鈥檚 father, Weixing Chen. 鈥淭eam sports weren鈥檛 best because of the requirements for physical activity and the possibility of germs spreading between kids. So we figured golf 鈥 with open, fresh air and beautiful settings 鈥 would be right for her, and she could do it at her own pace and get good exercise.鈥 Golf quickly became something more than just exercise. After clinics and lessons, at age 7 she won five medals in five categories in a national competition. Game on.
Grace is now readying for her 5th annual trip to the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst, N.C., Aug. 1-3. Pediatric oncologist Gary Dahl, MD, is not surprised. 鈥淕race represents a very important trend in leukemia treatments,鈥 Dahl said. 鈥淚n the early 1960s, before chemotherapy was used, only about 3 percent of patients like Grace were long-term survivors. But in the late 鈥60s and through the 鈥70s, we made major inroads in treatment. ALL now has a cure rate of around 90 percent and other types, such as acute myeloid leukemia, have improved to rates of 65 percent.鈥
Leukemia, a cancer of the blood that starts in the bone marrow and spreads to the bloodstream, is the most common childhood cancer. It hit Grace hard at age 2. She was temporarily living in China with her grandparents while her parents, who were working in the Bay Area, flew back and forth. The symptoms were classic: severe joint pain, fever, anemia and more. With a confirmed diagnosis, she flew to the Bay Area for treatment and came straight to Packard Children鈥檚 from the airport.
鈥淕race couldn鈥檛 speak English and she was very frightened,鈥 Weixing said. 鈥淥nce Dr. Dahl laid out the plan, she started receiving chemotherapy and dealing with all the side effects.鈥 Dahl, professor of pediatric hematology/oncology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, noted that 麻豆果冻传媒 is a member of the , the world鈥檚 largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research. The group designs and evaluates cancer therapies through large clinical trials at more than 200 hospitals, universities and cancer centers primarily in the United States and Canada, and with input from members around the globe. From those trials came therapies and protocols that gave Grace her life back. Still, there were many tough moments, especially the painful bone marrow aspirations to check the status of her blood cells.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 remember too much,鈥 said Grace, 鈥渂ut I remember the therapy, including the shots and then the ice cream afterward. I鈥檓 just really thankful to now be healthy.鈥 That thankfulness has helped many others, especially through Grace鈥檚 Birdie for ALL team, a group of junior Bay Area golfers that is part of her . The nonprofit was established in 2009 to raise awareness of childhood leukemia diseases and research. Birdie for ALL has supporters throughout the Bay Area who donate money for every birdie or better made by Grace and . The group also hosts fundraising activities and holds golf-related events at Packard Children鈥檚, , and , a camp for children with cancer.
To date, Birdie for ALL has donated more than $6,000 to fund leukemia research and treatment at Packard Children's and 麻豆果冻传媒. The impact of this commitment brought Grace the 2012 Peggy Kirk Bell award at last year鈥檚 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. Named after the women鈥檚 golf pioneer, Grace was honored for using the power of golf for a greater good.
It鈥檚 a power that also creates low scores. She recently finished No. 1 at the Junior Golf Association of Northern California鈥檚 biggest annual tournament. It was good preparation for the Callaway Junior World championship in San Diego this month and the Aug. 1-3 U.S. Kids event, where in 2010 she posted her best competitive round ever, a 68. With personal heroes like superstars Yani Tseng and Phil Mickelson, is Grace envisioning a pro career?
鈥淚 hope to play in high school, and my college dream is to go to Stanford, Princeton, Harvard or UCLA,鈥 Grace said. 鈥淔or now, I think I want to wait and see how things go, but I do know one thing. I feel like golf has played a large role in helping me recover.鈥
Find out more about Grace Chen and the Gracious Life Foundation at .
Authors
Robert Dicks
(650) 497-8364
rdicks@stanfordchildrens.org
麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health, with聽Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford聽at its center, is the Bay Area鈥檚 largest health care system exclusively dedicated to children and expectant mothers. Our network of care includes more than 65聽locations聽across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region.聽Along with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford School of Medicine, we are part of聽, an ecosystem harnessing the potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education, and clinical care to improve health outcomes around the world. We are a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the community through meaningful outreach programs and services and providing necessary medical care to families, regardless of their ability to pay. Discover more at聽stanfordchildrens.org.
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