When Becky Lamph learned she had thyroid cancer, she knew she could handle it and that her path to recovery would be smooth, compared to the experience of her young daughter, Kelsey.

Kelsey was 19 months old and the family had just welcomed her baby sister into the world when she was diagnosed with leukemia. Childhood cancer was a complete unknown for Becky, and she quickly became educated on everything she needed to know to help her daughter through the two years of treatment. One of the first decisions she and her husband faced was whether to enroll Kelsey in a clinical trial. The answer was “yes.” They decided it was the right thing to do for their daughter, and for the cancer cause.

“We felt a deep sense of gratitude to those families before us who took part in trials that led to the treatments that we hoped would cure our daughter,” Becky says. “We also hoped Kelsey’s involvement could help to fine tune those treatments for future patients.”

Facing cancer herself was frightening for Becky, but her daughter’s strength inspired her. She had surgery to remove the thyroid and despite the exhaustion she experienced, Becky worked hard to make life as normal as possible for her daughters. She didn’t want them to be afraid of cancer, nor to worry that everyone was destined to experience it.

Cancer advocacy became important to Becky, and remains a big part of the family’s life. She is active in local cancer organizations and Kelsey -- now a vibrant and intelligent first-grader – holds yard sales with her sister and donates the proceeds to cancer-related charities.

Becky experienced the groundswell of hope and excitement among the crowd on the Las Vegas Strip when the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ made a stop there during the 2004 ride. Still facing radiation to complete her treatment, Becky knew then that she wanted to be a part of the team this year. “I hope that telling my family’s story will inspire someone in the crowd to learn about cancer research and become more active in the cancer cause,” she says.