Keilana’s Story


In 2001, when Keilana was 9 months old, her anxious parents rushed her to Seattle Children’s Emergency Department because she was vomiting and so lethargic she was hard to wake. While waiting to be seen, Keilana’s parents, Kris and Holly, felt a bulge on her head. They knew something could be seriously wrong.


A CT scan confirmed every parent’s worst fears. It was cancer, a rare brain tumor called a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) that had also spread to her spine. The odds were not in her favor. She needed expert treatment right away, starting with a shunt to ease the pressure on her brain.


Keilana was in the right place. Seattle Children’s is a national leader in treating even the most complex and rare forms of pediatric cancer. The hospital’s survival rate for all types of childhood cancer combined is higher than the national average.


Keilana spent much of the next two years at Children’s battling the cancer through three rounds of chemotherapy, six weeks of targeted radiation and three stem cell transplants. Her winning spirit never gave up.   


Gradually, Keilana’s cancer went into remission. But the cancer and side effects from her chemotherapy and radiation treatments were severe, causing life-threatening infections in her lungs and knee and many ongoing complications.


She requires care from multiple Children’s specialty areas – from ophthalmology to hematology/oncology and many others – as teams of experts work to treat problems with her vision, growth, curvature in her spine, an overbite and possible damage to her reproductive system.


Despite these obstacles, Keilana is now a blissful 11-year-old who loves singing and dancing.  She takes part in Seattle Children’s long-term program for cancer survivors, After Cancer Care Ends Survivorship Starts (ACCESS), and will continue to receive follow-up care at Children’s her entire childhood.  


Even with all that she went through – and continues to face – Keilana still gets excited going to Children’s. Parents Kris and Holly share that their entire family associates the hospital with positive experiences and can’t help but think ‘This is the place that helped save her. We feel we got the best possible care.’


Keilana is full of joy and hope and loves connecting with people. She lives each day with a spirit that inspires others.  In many ways, Keilana has become a teacher to everyone around her about embracing life with joy, even during the worst of circumstances.