IOWA CITY, Iowa — Kale Schmidt had been passing blood in his urine when he was 5 years old, and an ultrasound done by local doctors showed a mass on his kidney. He was referred to University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital the next day. Following more tests, Kale was diagnosed with bi-lateral Wilms Tumor, a form of pediatric kidney cancer. He underwent chemotherapy for two months and was discharged from the hospital.
He returned to UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital two days later when he started showing symptoms again. A few weeks later he was readmitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt lymphoma, a fast-growing cancer. He remained in the hospital for eight months. This year he celebrated being five years cancer-free.
Read Kale’s story here.