Girls in pink

Stepping up the tempo to beat cancer

BY Victor Scott

Laurel Davis (far right, standing) poses with friends at her recent Dancer for Cancer dance camp that raised more than $1,000 for breast cancer research. Photo courtesy of Renee Davis.

Laurel Davis stays busy. Basketball, dance, drama, piano, soccer, softball and swimming occupy most of her time throughout the year. Recently, the 9-year-old from Houston added cancer fighting to that list.

“Last year in school we made pillows for ladies at MD Anderson with breast cancer,” says Laurel. “Since then, I’ve been thinking about what I could do to help our family and friends with breast cancer. I’ve always wanted to have a dance camp at my house for little girls and thought that would be a great way to raise money for breast cancer research.”

Laurel set the date for her Dancer for Cancer dance camp. She created a flier and designed T-shirts. She recruited friends to help coach and selected girls age 7 and younger as students.

“For weeks the coaches practiced their dance on the playground at school and at our house,” says Renee Davis, Laurel’s mother. “I mean, these girls were so committed.”

Word soon spread and 20 students arrived at the Dancer for Cancer dance camp on Laurel’s front lawn. The two-hour event included pink-colored food and drinks, as well as full makeup for each girl.

“We felt so cool because the little girls were so excited to be hanging out with the ‘big’ girls,” says Laurel.

The camp ended with a performance for the coaches and students’ parents.

“Our whole front yard was covered with little girls in pink,” says Renee. “The parents thought it was just adorable.”

Laurel says she’s very proud about the success of her first dance camp, which raised $1,070.

“So many of our loved ones have battled cancer with the support of
MD Anderson,” says Renee. “Laurel’s seen firsthand what that’s like through the care my mother’s receiving there as she endures her third type of cancer. I like to think that Laurel’s efforts are a unique way to recognize and thank the incredible people who work there for all they’ve given us.”

"So many of our loved ones have battled cancer with the support of MD Anderson. Laurel's seen firsthand what that's like through the care my mother's receiving there as she endures her third type of cancer. I like to think that Laurel's efforts are a unique way to recognize and thank the incredible people who work there for all they've given us."

Renee Davis

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Kimmie Rhodes, of Austin, is a singer and writer whose songs have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Peter Frampton and many others. She was married to producer-writer-musician Joe Gracey for 28 years before he succumbed to metastatic esophageal cancer in 2011. Diagnosed with oral cancer in 1977, Gracey was cancer-free for 30 years following surgeries at MD Anderson, though he lost his ability to speak and sing. Here, Rhodes reflects on her late husband and the hope they both found at MD Anderson.