Tonight, Saturday, Sept. 19, the Columbus Crew pays special homage to MLS WORKS' Kick Childhood Cancer Month in partnership with No Child Fights Cancer Alone (NC4K) with "Kick Childhood Cancer Night."
In addition to honoring the LampStrong Hero of the Match, the MAPFRE Stadium scoreboard will be lit up in gold to help raise awareness of pediatric cancer as well as to honor pediatric cancer patients, survivors, and their families.
This week's LampStrong Hero of the Match is Sophia, and as part of the month-long Kick Childhood Cancer campaign, read more about Sophia's fight with Renal Cell Carcinoma.
Sophia's Story
Sophia was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma (kidney cancer) after discovering a lump in her stomach in June of 2019, the summer before her junior year of high school.
She had two surgeries that summer before starting chemotherapy and was able to still attend school part-time even though she was sick and dealing with side effects from treatment.
In early 2020, her scans showed that her cancer had progressed, so she started a new treatment. That treatment didn’t work to slow down the tumor growth, so she started yet another type of treatment along with radiation.
The third course of treatment combined with radiation has her experiencing bad side effects, so she is unable to attend her senior year in-person. She’s doing her best to keep up with her courses online in hopes of graduating with her class. Despite all she has been through, she continues to have a positive attitude, and for that Sophia continues to be an inspiration to us all!
About the LampStrong Foundation
Sophia is the third LampStrong Hero of the Match this month. Starting in 2014, the LampStrong Foundation was founded by current Columbus Crew and former Ohio State University Goalkeeper and Stage IV Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivor Matt Lampson.
Lampson started the organization with the goal of providing difference-making financial, emotional, and motivational support to cancer patients and families in all the stages of cancer treatment and recovery and to fund proven cancer researchers.
Now in its seventh year, the Kick Childhood Cancer campaign aims to find better cures for all types of childhood cancer, and now more than ever, provide support to one of the most vulnerable populations affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
