MARION -- When a child gets diagnosed with cancer, many families slip into a state of shock. Now, one Eastern Iowa family has found a way to help themselves and others cope by using a camera.
It's called "Flashes of Hope."

The group has chapters all over the country and now, the VanWey family is bringing the organization to Iowa.

"No four-year-old should know the words 'spinal tap.' No four-year-old should know the word 'chemo' or what it is," Christie VanWey said.

When doctors diagnosed her daughter Mikayla with leukemia last year, Christie and her husband Brent found a group called "Flashes of Hope."

The organization inspired them to have a professional photo taken of Mikayla and to create the first Iowa chapter of "Flashes of Hope." The group brings professional photographers into hospitals to take portraits of children with cancer.

"If we can give and provide a service that gives them a little bit of hope and lets their child be a normal child for even a little bit of time, that's what we want to do,” Brent VanWey said.

The pictures emphasize that kids with cancer are still kids, not just victims of a disease.

"You see a bald-headed kid in the mall and you look away because you don't want to face it. That's what I think these photos show. These are kids and they have joy. They have hope. They have courage,” Christie VanWey said.

Doctors say Mikayla VanWey has an excellent chance of beating cancer. She has about one more year of treatment left.

The VanWeys plan to host the first "Flashes of Hope" photo shoot at an Iowa children's cancer camp next month. But, they need to raise money to help cover the cost of the sessions.

For the next week or so, a portion of every sale from Jimmy Jak's Pizza in Marion will go to the group.

"Flashes of Hope" Official Website

Jimmy Jak's Pizza "Flashes of Hope" Fundraiser Information

Flashes of Hope - Iowa Chapter

Brent and Christie VanWey, Directors
319.270.2634
1025 25th Street
Marion, IA 52302

E-mail:
flashesofhopeia@gmail.com