Meet Penny
Penny DeBoer was only a year old when she was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma. And, to complicate things, she was in foster care.
“In some ways I’m glad she was a foster kid at the beginning, because that’s why we were at UCSF Benioff Oakland. I don’t think we would have survived without that community. The care was second to none.” – Andrea DeBoer, Penny’s Mother
After two years of grueling treatment, Penny participated in a clinical trial of a new treatment specifically for neuroblastoma patients. By the time she entered kindergarten, she was in remission.
Today, Penny is 7 years old and thriving. The DeBoers officially adopted her, and have never looked back. While many of the side effects of cancer treatment, including vision loss, will follow her for the rest of her life, she has nevertheless grown into a cheerful, silly, independent, and resilient child who loves school and gymnastics and dreams of becoming a doctor one day.
“Foster kids like Penny are an under-resourced population that still deserves exceptional care,” says Andrea. “Just because you’re in the system doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have access to the best possible care. And at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, she was able to access that, as were so many other under-resourced families who we met while we were there. I wouldn’t have wanted my child anywhere else in the world. It was just the right place for us.”
