In 2021, shortly after she finished kindergarten, 5-year-old Kasey Zachmann started vomiting—a lot.

Her parents, Joe and Alyssa Zachmann, took the dehydrated Kasey to the hospital expecting an IV, a referral to a gastroenterologist, and a quick discharge. Twelve hours later, a CT scan revealed a mass on her cerebellum: medulloblastoma, the most common—and deadly—form of pediatric brain tumor.

In the same moment the couple’s firstborn became a cancer patient, Zachmann became an advocate.

“Seeing your child on a breathing machine and thinking, ‘I don’t know if she’s ever going to wake up again,’” says the Chevy Chase, Maryland, resident, his voice trailing off. “But I said to myself, I can take this on. I have to take this on.”

Just 350 patients a year are diagnosed with medulloblastoma—but 60 percent are under age 15. Zachmann, senior director of international compensation and benefits at Marriott International, has made it his mission to draw attention—and funding—to the illness. Team KVZ raised $58,746 in September for the 2023 Race for Every Child, which benefits the Neuro-Oncology Discovery Fund at Children’s National Hospital in DC.

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing everything possible to fight this disease,” Zachmann says.

Kasey too is a fighter. Following a successful surgery in July 2021, her scans were clear. Despite the cancer’s return in September 2022, hers is a unique case, in that most children don’t live long enough to relapse. Another surgery in August to remove new growth will not only improve Kasey’s life—but potentially save those of other patients, as the mass that was removed will be used to test myriad chemotherapy regimens.

Kasey is breaking new ground, her dad says. But she’s also enjoying just being an 8-year-old kid. The aspiring chef loves arts and crafts, music, Broadway shows, and playing with her younger sister, Zara. “There are days when she’s miserable and scared, but 20 minutes in the art room at the hospital makes all the difference. It’s good for her soul.”