Teen cancer survivor teams up with Rep. McCaul to share message of hope during COVID-19 pandemic
13-year-old acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivor Sadie Keller and Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul join 'Fox & Friends' with their message.
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Rep. Michael McCaul appeared on “Fox & Friends” Thursday to explain why he partnered with 13-year-old cancer survivor Sadie Keller to raise awareness about childhood cancer and spread hope during the coronavirus pandemic.
McCaul, R-Texas, told “Fox & Friends” that he helped create the Childhood Cancer Caucus to “give children a voice” because there was no representation in Congress, nor was there any support from lobbyists.
“The advocates brought her to me in my office and, as you can see from her, we immediately had a bond. She is kind of my little angel. What we found is that these children can be the most effective lobbyist on the Hill,” McCaul said.
'BETTER ANGELS' BY SADIE KELLER AND MICHAEL MCCAUL
Sadie was able to share her story with President Trump in the Oval Office in 2018, when he signed the STAR Act into law. It aims to provide $30 million per year to childhood cancer research.
“It made my job a lot easier in passing bills. We passed four major pieces of legislation. One put me and Sadie in the White House with the president and what I thought was great was when he signed the bill, he didn’t give me the pen as the author of the bill, he gave the pen to Sadie and I thought that was so appropriate.”
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Keller, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2015 at age 7, said that she teamed up with McCaul because “he knows what it is like to lose a friend or child to cancer” and, as a survivor herself, they worked well together for “four years.”
“I know that together we have worked a lot with childhood cancer helping to pass laws and different bills and what we’re doing right now is spreading awareness on childhood cancer,” Keller said.
Keller said that “it is a scary time for all of us” right now and that her non-profit Sadie Keller Foundation would help lessen the fear of the virus in other children and to spread a message of hope.
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“I’ve been through a scary time too. I was 7 when I was diagnosed. My type of cancer was two and a half years long and so I know what other kids are going through too and that’s why I wanted to start the Sadie Keller Foundation.”
McCaul said that he and Keller want to document their experience in a book called “Better Angels” set to be released on May 30. McCaul said that most of the book is the “voice of Sadie” experiencing cancer through the eyes of a child.
“The greatest example from Sadie is the fact that she took such a hard experience and turned it into such a positive experience,” McCaul said.
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