Clinical trials at CHOP made the difference for this 6-year-old who beat cancer
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Wednesday is our 17th annual Alex Scott: A Stand For Hope Telethon.
We are proud to partner with the foundation to raise money and awareness in the fight against childhood cancer.
Alex once said, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
For Karina Willis, she made "cookie pizzas"
We found Willis in one of her favorite places and doing what she loves – cooking. She was making an original recipe – cookie pizzas.
"Bananas, cookies, blueberries, strawberries, grapes," Willis said. "The cream cheese frosting."
The bubbly and vibrant 6-year-old is already quite the internet star with her own YouTube channel. She's even done a makeup tutorial.
"I put on makeup and I show you how to do it," Willis said.
Willis' YouTube channel is called "Karina Kicks Cancer."
"I have lots of my cookie videos on there," she said.
You wouldn't know it, but behind her smile and endless energy, this little girl has quite the story of kicking cancer. Willis had just turned 4 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.
"Karina was diagnosed in August 2020," Jessica Willis, Karina's mother, said. "She was initially diagnosed with leukemia and it was a rare type of leukemia and involved very intensive treatment, so we spent the better part of two years at the hospital in San Diego."
Karina and Jessica are from San Diego, but they traveled to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia after devastating news during her treatment in California.
"One week before she was scheduled to end treatment, she relapsed pretty significantly and it had filled her bone marrow and spinal fluid as well, so it was a pretty dire situation," Jessica Willis said.
The dire need to find an effective, less invasive treatment led Jessica to Children's Hospital and groundbreaking medical trials that made all the difference.
"I wanted to get her to CHOP where they were doing a clinical trial basically where they take your own t-cells from your body. They engineer them to make them cancer-fighting ninjas. Then, they put them back in her body so she doesn't have to go through more chemo," Jessica said.
Finally, a breakthrough and life-saving news.
"It got her into remission so she is now cancer-free," Jessica said.
Karina was diagnosed during the height of the pandemic. Blood shortages had reached critical levels, so her mom got busy hosting blood drives.
"We held blood drives and really tried to get the community out and support Karina and they really did. They showed up," Jessica Willis said.
Jessica and Karina have now moved to Philadelphia. They're adjusting to their new home and their dog, Confetti, seems to be adapting to his new digs.
Karina's resilience, her positivity, her tenacious fight against cancer has brought her here – in her new kitchen paving the way for more Youtube videos and more sweet treats.
"To see her actually be this person and be her is just the best feeling," Jessica Willis said.
