BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WTVF) — Easton Reeder, a varsity middle school football player in Williamson County, is using his experience battling a brain tumor to inspire others and raise awareness for pediatric cancer research.
"I didn't want to be known for having cancer," Reeder said last fall. "I wanted to be known for overcoming it and being Easton. Being normal."
When I met Easton last year, he was the keynote speaker at the A Round of Hope fundraiser. Now, he's returning to speak again at next month's event, which raises funds for pediatric oncology at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
"I just don't want anybody else to have to go through this," Reeder said.
Dr. Scott Borinstein is the medical director of the pediatric hematology and oncology program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. He praised Reeder's resilience and positive attitude despite his challenges.
"Easton is incredible because one, he's gone through some incredible challenges in his life with his cancer diagnosis," Borinstein said. "But despite that, he has maintained an incredible upbeat personality."
Borinstein says last year's fundraiser brought in more than $150,000 for cancer care, which helped recruit two new physicians to the practice. However, with federal funding for research uncertain, philanthropic efforts like A Round of Hope are increasingly important.
"Pediatric cancer is hard to treat and it requires a lot of investment and a lot of resources," Borinstein said. "And without philanthropy, we just can't do everything that we want to do,."
"There's a question of how much funds are going to be there and it's likely there's not going to be as much money for us to do the groundbreaking research that we need to do in order to advance cures," he added.
Most of us have felt the impact of cancer one way or another. Reeder emphasizes the urgency of supporting cancer research now rather than later.
"We need to do it now," he said. "Like everybody always says 'oh I'll do it next year.' Something can happen next year."
For Reeder, who has returned to playing football and enjoying normal teenage activities, these fundraising efforts help ensure other children can also return to just being kids.
"We never know what can happen," he said. "Like, there's a cure. We could find a cure!"
"You can only be a kid for so long," he said. "You can be an adult for the rest of your life but there's only a short time of being a kid and I want to enjoy that while I have that ability."
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- Lelan Statom
