Sarabeth was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in June 2023 after about six months of dealing with painful swelling of lymph nodes in her neck with unsuccessful treatments. She was taken to the Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital ER early in June with severe pain and a noticeable swelling on the right side of her neck. An initial operation removed necrotic tissue and suspicious growths. It was confirmed as cancer. She was scheduled for another surgery to remove the rest. 

Her surgeon was at a conference in Toronto where Sarabeth became a topic of discussion because of her age and how rare that particular cancer is in someone so young. Doctors from CHOP in Philadelphia asked to transfer her case to them. There, she underwent a 12+ hour surgery to remove her thyroid and all the affected lymph nodes. After recovery, her scans revealed that the cancer had spread to her lungs and some areas of cancer remained in her neck. Sarabeth was given the choice of how to proceed. She chose to undergo another surgery to remove the remaining areas. After that surgery, she underwent radioactive iodine treatment for the remaining cancer. In November 2023, her scans revealed that she was 90% cancer free, and they expected the rest to continue to improve from the prior treatments. 

That year was tough for the family as Amanda, Sarabeth’s mom, was diagnosed with a large brain tumor and Stage 4 Glioblastoma (brain cancer). She is doing well after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. They both have bonded in their battles and help each other out when they are feeling their worst. Sarabeth has been amazing throughout everything. She continued her asphalt stock car racing career the entire time with great results, as well as her other activities. She is in the 4Cylinder Futures Class. She plays in the school band and is starting high school, including technical training for becoming a diesel mechanic. 

PCFLV has been an amazing resource for us, providing a community and resources to help deal with the daily pressures and hardships. The kids all absolutely loved the summer camp, Camp Smile, and enjoy the moments of relief and distraction with event tickets. Sarabeth has gotten to meet other PCFLV kids at racing events and is proud to have the foundation’s logo on her race car. We can’t thank everyone involved and all the donors enough for all they do for the Valley’s cancer kids and families.

Written by Sarabeth’s dad, Steve

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip