Resilient, vibrant, and happy. All these words can be used to describe Rowyn Bolinger. Rowyn was an active, fun, princess-loving 3.5-year-old with no signs anything could possibly be wrong with her. She was going to school, loving ballet, and having a blast being a big sister.

On December 19, 2024 she came down with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and her parents took her into their local Children’s Hospital in Orange County, California. Rowyn’s mom felt that something was off (thinking pneumonia on top of RSV) and refused to leave the emergency department without Rowyn receiving a chest x-ray. To the surprise of everyone, Rowyn’s x-ray revealed a “giant” neuroblastic tumor measuring at 9.7cm.

On December 30, 2024 Rowyn was diagnosed with Intermediate Risk Neuroblastoma. The doctors at her home hospital recommended multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and then potentially radiation and immunotherapy. Essentially, they were willing to throw the kitchen sink at Rowyn, who appeared perfectly healthy, to shrink her tumor for it to be surgically removed with no guarantee they could ever get it all out. Rowyn’s tumor was partially encasing her Aorta, growing into her neural foramen (her spine), deviating her trachea, completely compressing her right lung and right primary bronchi, as well as encasing many vital arteries in her chest. Neuroblastoma is known for being a “silent monster” and in Rowyn’s case her family had no idea just how dangerously close to the edge she was living. Any more tumor growth and she could have been paralyzed, gone into heart failure, or just dropped one day.

Rowyn’s parents knew there had to be a better option than throwing tons of toxic medicines at her “in hopes” her tumor would shrink. Her pathology showed differentiating neuroblastoma. Often times chemotherapy and other therapies will not shrink these tumors and surgery is the best option for saving her life. Being told this while also hearing “her tumor is inoperable” is every parent’s worst nightmare. Instead of bracing for impact, the Bolinger’s got busy preparing to fight, researching every possible option for their daughter.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in NYC very quickly caught their attention. By January 2nd they had a Telehealth appointment with the MSKCC team and on January 5 they moved their family across the country to NYC for Rowyn to be treated by the brilliant doctors and surgeons at MSK.

Dr. Kushner, Dr. Danzer, and Dr. LaQuaglia presented a plan that was not only much less toxic for Rowyn, but that would also give her the best possible prognosis for a long and healthy life!

Rowyn received only ONE round of chemotherapy (cyclo & topo) and then on February 13, 2025 had a massive, life-giving surgery that removed her entire visible tumor. Something NO other hospital would even consider doing.

Through their time in frontline treatment at MSK the Bolinger’s got to know many other NB families and their stories. Many of these sweet kiddos are High Risk Stage 4 Neuroblastoma fighters with miraculous stories and successful outcomes thanks to the advancements in treatment that MSKCC offers.

Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer and only affects about 800 children a year in the United States. Sadly, because it is a pediatric cancer, this means that there is less government funding available to find better, less toxic and life-saving treatments. Only 8% of government funding goes towards ALL pediatric cancers. ONLY 8%. The rest of the funding required to discover better treatments for children comes from families and organizations like Band of Parents. Band of Parents funding supports various initiatives aimed at advancing treatment options and improving outcomes for children with neuroblastoma. Key projects include the development of Hu3F8, a humanized antibody designed to overcome immune resistance issues associated with earlier treatments, and the Bivalent Vaccine Plus Beta-Glucan trial, which aims to prevent relapse in high-risk patients.

With Rowyn back home and thriving while still making trips out to MSK every 3 months for follow up scans, the Bolinger Family is committed to dedicating the rest of their lives to help raise money for BOP and MSKCC in hopes it helps other families navigate through the nightmare of neuroblastoma, and get their miracle, too.

Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts for your support as we #Rally4Rowyn and help support all other NB warriors out there! We are forever grateful!

#rally4rowyn

Rowyn Bolinger Fundraiser