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Quincy girl Pedaling the Cause for Leukemia
Posted: 06.23.2012 at 11:45 PM
Brooke Hasch

Brooke Hasch is a KHQA This Morning co-host for KHQA.

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Sierra's wish is to help other children with cancer.
Photo

QUINCY, ILL. -- A Quincy girl is getting some support from a St. Louis frozen yogurt chain as she prepares to Pedal the Cause this fall.

Six-year-old Sierra Miller was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia last year. Now, she's the face of a fighter in an annual St. Louis bike ride that provides life-saving research and cures for cancer patients.

"Have you been to the hospital a lot this year? -- Yea, because I've been sick," Sierra said.

St. Louis Children's Hospital has become her second home for the last eight months.

"Sierra was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia last October, called T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Her bone marrow does not produce mature white blood cells," Amanda Liesen-Miller, Sierra's mother said.

Sierra goes down to St. Louis on a weekly basis for chemo treatments.

"She just finished up the real hard stuff and now we're going into maintenance. She has about 21 more months left of chemo before we're done," Miller said.

Unlike other cancers where you may have a single tumor, cancer cells in Leukemia patients are found throughout the entire body. It's been a tough ride and she's not yet half way through, but her support chain continues to grow.

"Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Grandma, Julie and Aunt Sue and Diane..." Sierra began listing.

Recently, staff at Chill Frozen Yogurt, in St. Louis, picked Sierra as the face of their team for this year's Pedal the Cause on October 6th and 7th.

"These three girls chose Sierra to be who they ride for and they are riding for her and they're getting employees and friends together to ride in her honor to raise money," Miller said.

"At Chill, there's a picture on the back of the menu of me," Sierra said.

Sierra plans to give back to the cause someday.

"I want to be a child life specialist. They help kids with cancer through art and stuff," Sierra said.

For now, Sierra will continue her own treatment, while spreading her infectious smile to others going through the same journey.

Aside from the Pedal the Cause event in October, Sierra is also looking forward to this fall when she'll get to take a family trip to Disney World thanks to the Make a Wish Foundation.

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