On Monday, the Navis Foundation's fourth annual Drive the Dream of Hope Golf Outing was held in Armonk at Whippoorwill Country Club.
This June marked five years since 8-year-old Alessia Fegan, of West Harrison, was diagnosed with Wilms tumor, a type of pediatric cancer.
In March of 2021, then-3-year-old Alessia went in for a routine physical exam when her pediatrician felt something unusual near her spleen. From an ultrasound, doctors found a mass growing on her lower left kidney.
Her parents were able to get her in for an appointment the next day at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where they met Dr. Michael Ortiz, and later learned their daughter had Wilms tumor.
"She underwent a 5 1/2 hour procedure. They removed her entire left kidney, kept her adrenal gland. They removed some fatty tissue and lymph nodes. Luckily, her cancer was only Stage II, so it did not spread," said Alessia's mother, Cynthia Fegan.
Alessia completed 19 weeks of chemotherapy, but because of her age, Cynthia Fegan says she does not remember.
According to the National Institutes of Health, there are 650 new cases of Wilms tumor in the United States yearly.
It is typically common for kids ranging from ages 3 to 5, with girls slightly more likely to be diagnosed.
For Alessia's parents, the golf outing is not only to raise awareness, but also to find a better treatment option.
"Now, when you do the chemotherapy, it's just the same treatments that adults get, just smaller doses. On the national stage, the national funding - only 4% of national funding goes towards pediatric cancer research. There's a great need for additional research to be done for less invasive treatments," said Alessia's father, Paul Fegan.
The annual fundraiser has raised around $300,000 in total, which goes towards Dr. Ortiz at Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
There are currently no traces of cancer in Alessia.
Alessia's parents say they have a fundraising goal of $120,000 for Monday's event, which included a 50-50 Helicopter Golf Ball raffle, a cocktail hour featuring award-winning impact artist Marco Santini, dinner, remarks, a silent auction and rewards.
