The Bald and the Beautiful: Local mom set to shave head for cancer awareness

"Every once in a while, I start to feel a bit of anxiety about shaving my head because I'm afraid of how I look bald," Amy Brennfoerder said of her recent decision. But, staring into the eyes of her three-year-old, cancer-surviving son, gives her more than enough courage to take on the razor and leave vanity behind.

Kaiden Brennfoerder was a happy little 2-and-a-half-year-old. He, like many children his age, loved playing with his toy cars. However, on the morning of March 25, 2010, Brian and Amy Brennfoerder discovered that their little boy may be faced with a few challenges.

"People don't like to think about our babies dying from cancer," Amy said.

After suffering from a large seizure and being transported to a local hospital, the Brennfoerders heard the news that their 2-and-a-half-year-old son had a mass the size of a golf ball in the front-left part of his brain. Within four days, he was undergoing brain surgery to remove it.

Kaiden's surgeon was able to remove the entire tumor and diagnosed him with a rare brain cancer called supratentorial peripheral neuroectodermal tumor, or PNET. This type of tumor is usually located in the back of the brain, making Kaiden's case even more special.

Kaiden's chemotherapy was cumulative, allowing his body to bounce back before the next treatment. But his parents still watched as their little boy lost his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. After chemo, Kaiden received proton therapy, an effective form of radiation therapy for many types of tumors. It destroys cancer cells by preventing them from dividing and growing, just like standard X-ray radiation, but protons release more of their cancer-destroying energy directly in the tumor and less in surrounding healthy tissue.

Kaiden's treatment ended last week on Friday, March 25, a year after the discovery. His last MRI scans showed no evidence of the disease.

"Kaiden is doing amazing," Amy said. "He gets to be a normal little boy again."

The Brennfoerders' lives have returned to a sense of normalcy they haven't known in several months, but fear of relapse is always in the back of their minds.

"Of course, we are always wondering if it will return, but we choose not to dwell on that and just live life day by day," Amy said. "We have been very fortunate because Kaiden has experienced very little side effects from the chemo and radiation other than hair loss. He still has a bald spot from the radiation, but it's growing in nicely and will hopefully be gone before too long."

Since Kaidnen was so young when he was diagnosed and received treatment, the family doesn't know if the treatment has affected his temperament or intelligence.

"He's still sharp as a tack and still pretty laid back," Amy said, "but he has some fabulous three-year-old meltdowns. Unfortunately, we will never know if it's normal behavior or brought on by his treatments. I'll take anything that comes our way as long as we have our son with us."

His smile is big and his joy is even bigger as he lies on the floor surrounded by tiny toy cars, as his mom watches gratefully. Although her son is in remission, Amy can't help but think of the thousands of other children who are still suffering in silence, fighting a battle of epic proportions.

"The truth is, more children die of cancer than from any other disease," she said. "Forty-six mothers are told their kids have cancer every weekday and seven children lose their life to it every day."

That astonishing figure is why Amy has decided to take action.

"The whole point of shaving is to put aside my vanity for the sake of all children dealing with cancer, chemotherapy and radiation and the hair loss that comes with it," she said. "Children don't get to choose whether or not they lose their hair. They don't get to decide to keep their hair because they might look silly bald. I do have a choice and I choose to shave my head and raise money and awareness for childhood cancer."

Amy said the biggest benefit of the event is the unique way it will raise awareness.

"The most obvious benefit is being able to tell folks about it when they ask why I'm bald," she said. "We are a group of 46 mommas who will publicly 'Shave for the Brave' in Washington D.C to bring a voice to childhood cancer, one of the most underfunded and under-hyped cancer's out there. In April, Mike Thornton of Transformation Boot Camp (TBC) is hosting a Boot Camp fundraiser in Allen to raise money for the St. Balrick's Foundation in honor of my Kaiden."

Amy has been a part of TBC since June 2009 and the organization has provided a large amount support to the Brennfoerders over the past year.

The event is a two-hour fitness boot camp where the participant will run through a series of boot camp drills designed to burn some serious calories, tighten cores and tone muscles.

"All of the drills are designed to be fun, positive, and team-oriented," Amy said. "It doesn't matter their fitness level or background, all are welcome to come participate at whatever level works best for them."

The Second Annual March to Kaiden's Cadence will again serve as a way to raise money for pediatric cancer research. All proceeds will benefit St. Baldrick's through Amy's participation in 46 Mommas.

"I'm hoping that through Facebook and other media outlets, we can get the word out and be the Susan G. Komen of the pediatric cancer world," Amy said.

Because of the amount of support Amy has received, her original goal of raising $5,000 was surpassed within the first two months of fundraising.

"I upped my ante to $15,000," she said. "I'm a little over $6,100 now and I have six months to go. St. Baldrick's raises more money for pediatric cancer research and has funded more grants than any other organization, aside from the U.S. Government."

For information about Transformation Boot Camp, visit http://www.transformationbootcamp.com/kaiden." For information about St. Baldricks visit www.stbaldricks.org/participants/kmansmomma.

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