Toddler's Battle with Cancer has Family Fighting for a Cure

By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A toddler's long battle with cancer has inspired her family to help others who are struggling through similar situations.

On Saturday, friends and families cooked out, but the reason they were all there was because of Rylie, a little girl who has inspired even her own father.

"She's like a normal kid. You'll see her playing around and when you look at her now you really can't tell that she has leukemia," said Long Tran, Rylie's father.

When Rylie was diagnosed with cancer on her 3rd birthday, his world was turned upside down.

"We feel helpless. We feel helpless because we can't do anything. She's suffering, and if we can find a cure, that's what we want," Tran said.

Tran's little girl went through countless chemotherapy treatments, fighting for her life.

"Imagine a little 3-year-old being pumped with all that drugs every day, getting shots twice a day every day. It's not pretty, it's really tough," Tran said.

But through the toughest of times, the Tran family held on to faith. Faith is also Rylie's middle name and so FAITH Kids, which stands for Fighting Against Illnesses To Help Kids, was born.

"Our support group has been amazing, and I feel obligated and inspired by Rylie's condition and the support group that we have and basically want to give back and help families going through the same issues we went through," Tran said.

Now Tran said he has to continue waiting for another year of treatment for his Rylie.

"She's in remission. She's in her maintenance phase, which means she still has chemo," Tran said.

Saturday's festival raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.