Golf and Fishing Tournaments Raise Money for Child with Rare Liver Cancer FLORENCE , S.C. – Two upcoming tournaments raise money for three-year-old Katie Fitch, a Florence, South Carolina, girl with a rare childhood liver cancer, recently diagnosed as terminal. The Love for Katie Bass Fishing Tournament is Saturday, March 7, 2009, at Billy Dreher State Park in Prosperity, South Carolina, and The Love for Katie Golf Tournament is Monday, March 9, 2009, at Charwood Country Club in West Columbia, South Carolina.
The Love for Katie Bass Fishing Tournament is $125 per team, which includes the tournament and hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and drink following the tournament. There is a five fish, 12” size limit. Prizes include a 75% pay back, first, second and third place teams, two big bass pots and a drawing after the tournament. The primary sponsor is Darling Shredding (DSI Metals), but additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For additional information, visit
katiefitch.com or contact Scotty Reed at 864.415.0592 or scottyr@bellsouth.net.
The Love for Katie Golf Tournament is a four-person team, captain’s choice, $50 per player, which includes green fee, cart, range balls, practice green and hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and drink after the tournament by L.C.'s Grille. Prizes include first, second and third place teams, closest to the hole, longest drive and a $1 raffle after the tournament. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For additional information, visit
katiefitch.com or contact Mary Ellen Gardner at 803.755.1269 or juzzme2@aol.com.
Gardner also has t-shirts available. Embellished with the logo, “DeLIVERing Hope for Katie Fitch,” the shirts are $10 each with, again, all profits benefiting Katie and her family.
West Columbia, South Carolina, resident Mary Ellen Gardner coordinated the golf tournament, her fifth. She first held a tournament for her nephew who needed open-heart surgery, and then two for her niece who needed a heart transplant. Her fourth was for fifty-year-old Scotty Reed, a Spartanburg, South Carolina resident, who coordinated the fishing tournament and was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma in both of his frontal and right maxillary sinuses. Reed said, “So many people, including strangers, assisted me in every way possible. Realizing one can never pay all those people back nor do they expect it, I simply try to pay it forward.” Gardner said planning the tournaments was the right thing to do, but, “Katie caught my heart.” All profits from the tournaments benefit Katie and her family, assisting them with the financial strain from extensive medical care.
A quick look around Katie's bedroom reveals a typical three-year-old girl. Lots of pink. Strawberry Shortcake, Spongebob Squarepants and Wonder Pets dolls litter the shelves, floor and any other available space. She likes Hannah Montana, but “ Charlotte's Web” is her favorite movie. Her favorite books are “Barn Animals Play Peek-a-Boo” and “Goodnight Moon.” But Katie isn't a typical four-year-old. She has hepatoblastoma.
Hepatoblastoma, primarily a childhood cancer, is a very rare cancerous tumor originating in the liver, but can also spread or metastasize to other areas of the body. The liver is one of the largest organs in the body, and its primary functions include filtering and storing blood. Hepatoblastoma affects about one in 1,000,000 children. About 70% are treated successfully with surgery and chemotherapy, and the survival rate is greater than 90% for early-stages.
Monday, June 23, 2008, Katie's mother, Stacie Williams, took her to the doctor thinking she may have a hiatal hernia because her stomach was hard and it was difficult for her to eat. However, the doctors at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, South Carolina, found something else, and quickly sent Katie to Charleston for tests and treatment. Friday, June 27, 2008, a biopsy was performed.
Katie's cancer was extremely aggressive, so the doctors treated it aggressively with round after round of chemotherapy hoping the tumor would shrink to an operable size. At first, the tumor responded, and reduced in size by 12 centimeters. However, in November, 2008, the chemotherapy stopped working. They tried something more aggressive, but it, too, failed. On December 30, 2008, the doctors at the Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, said there was nothing more they could do.
Following a week-long trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the family traveled to Maryland to see if Katie was eligible for a clinical trial. During the tests – the family’s last hope – doctors found Katie’s cancer metastasized to her lungs and heart. Now, the family knows they only have days. Katie celebrates her fourth birthday on Sunday, February 15, 2009, in her hometown of Florence, South Carolina, with her mother, Stacie Williams, her father, Clayton Fitch, and two sisters, Allie and Kristin.
Katelee Gardner, daughter of golf tournament organizer, Mary Ellen Gardner, models one of the shirts used in fundraising efforts.
Katie, 2007.
Katie at her third birthday party, February 15, 2008.
Katie, January, 2009.
Katie, January 11, 2009.