The Pulse of CBS Philadelphia: June 19-23
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- This week, our region dealt with an EF-1 tornado in West Caln Township, our Alex Scott: A Stand For Hope Telethon raised over $7 million and two Philadelphia-area sisters created a brand to empower girls' basketball.
Here's what our CBS News Philadelphia team worked on this week:
NWS confirms EF1 tornado in West Caln Township
An EF1 tornado touched down in a Chester County town last Friday morning, the National Weather Service confirmed.
The tornado in West Caln Township dropped at Baldwin Road around 11:10 a.m. and then moved east. It had a peak wind of about 105 mph and traveled about 1.8 miles before dissipating, the National Weather Service said.
The other tornado, an EF0, hit in Pemberton, New Jersey. That is considered a minor tornado with wind speeds between 65-85 mph.
Alex Scott: A Stand For Hope Telethon raises over $7 million
The "Alex Scott: A Stand For Hope Telethon" continues to provide just that -- hope. On Wednesday at the CBS News Philadelphia studios, we held our 17th annual telethon benefitting Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Thanks to our community and partners, a grand total of $7,179,720 was raised -- the most ever in our 17-year history.
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra "Alex" Scott.
Fighting her own battle with childhood cancer, Alex Scott dreamed of a world without it.
Joey was only a year old when his sister lost her fight with cancer. He has no memory of meeting his sister but working to carry on her dream has kept them close.
"I feel like I do have memories of her, because -- just of all the stories I hear about her," he said.
Alex's Lemonade Stand is a family organization at its heart. The youngest members of the family are now the ones carrying on Alex's dream.
Cole Fitzgerald is 18 years old now and he's a special human being.
"He was born prematurely. Then two years later got cancer for the first time, stage four neuroblastoma," Cole's mom Keren Fitzgerald said.
Hence the Fightin' Fitzgeralds, a title that represents his team of family members, doctors, the community and many organizations all in his corner.
On Tuesday afternoon, 4-year-old Leighton McWay, her mother Alexandra and her 16-month-old brother Reese set up a lemonade stand on South Street and South Bambrey Street.
"Today we are fundraising for Alex's Lemonade Stand," Alexandra McWay said.
In a hard-hitting interview with the 4-year-old, we learned what her game plan was.
For moms and dads with children who have cancer, sometimes that decision to do anything that needs to be done comes with big costs and life changes. That is where Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation can help.
"He had an MRI last week that was cancer-free," mom Diane Anderson said. "It's always very scary when they have a scan."
Amazing news for a kid who has had bad news three times.
"When Lincoln was 3 years old," Anderson said, "he was diagnosed with a very rare form of brain cancer."
Beaudin Larrabee is an avid speedcuber who can solve a Rubik's Cube in record time.
But right before Christmas in December 2018, he faced a puzzling situation that wasn't fun and games. It started with what his mom Betsy Larrabee thought was a cold.
"He's got a virus, everyone is going to get it, the whole house is going to fall apart," Betsy said. "We're all going to cycle through this and we'll get over it."
The diagnosis? Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Beaudin's treatment began immediately.
There would be no cost for the treatment, but they had to travel back and forth to Philadelphia 16 times.
"Between Beaudin and I, that's 32 plane flights from Denver to Philadelphia," Betsy said, "that each cost, give or take, $500 a piece."
Philip Steigerwald was diagnosed with the same type of cancer that Alex Scott had. He got the last spot in a clinical trial funded by Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. The clinical trial saved Philip's life.
He's an All-Star on the field and a survivor too.
Right before his third birthday, Philip had a tonsillectomy.
"The doctor came out afterward and said, 'We took his tonsils out, but that wasn't the issue, there was an almond-sized tumor behind his tonsils," dad Jeff Steigerwald said.
Phillip was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma.
A doctor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is making huge strides in finding a cure for some cancers. One of her patients was indeed cured, and she's hoping that there are more success stories in the near future.
"The science is taking us now to a place where we can start to think about what's called drugging the undruggable," Dr. Yael Mossé said.
Mossé is working on groundbreaking science at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The once undruggable neuroblastoma -- a rare cancer of nerve cells -- is now responding to treatments developed by the team at CHOP.
"This is a game changer," Mossé said. "This is going after the holy grail of childhood cancers."
Mallory Brodnik lost her sister to cancer at a young age, but she turned her grief into something positive. She not only is raising money for pediatric cancer research but is also dedicating her life to research.
"She was a spitfire, for sure," Brodnik said. "She was diagnosed when she was 13. She was going through treatment. She lost her hair, she lost a ton of weight."
Brodnik's younger sister Kelly fought fiercely battling osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Kelly died at the age of 15 in 2018.
Brodnik wanted to honor her sister's spirit and determination, so she partnered with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Not every child with cancer is close to a hospital that has the treatment they need. Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation's Travel for Care program helps families get to where they need to be.
In 15-year-old Diego Vega's case, the foundation also helped his treatment get to him.
Diego was in the hospital fighting cancer nearly two years ago. It was taking a toll on him physically, yet he remained mentally strong by finding therapy through writing.
"On a cold rainy night in Gotham, Batman is on top of a building, crouching, when all you could see is the shadow in his white eyes."
That's the beginning of a 152-scene comic book Diego spent months writing.
Philly area sisters create brand to empower girls' basketball
Two Philadelphia area sisters are bonded by basketball and now share their own brand.
They created their own designs, so girls feel confident on the court.
The sisters are a force on and off the court. This brand and its clothing started as a COVID-19 project in their house and grew into something much bigger than that.
Basketball, beauty and brains. Cire Worley and her sister Taylor Linton are the triple threat.
"I want to let girls know that it's OK to play basketball," Linton said. "Girls can hoop too."