Community Corner

Tanner's Touch, Fighting Cancer On Valentine's Day

A local Mom finds a way to give back to the community and help her son with the Valentine's Day Gala.

It’s a Mother’s worst nightmare. Your child is diagnosed with cancer. For Stephanie Moore, this was a reality.

Her son Tanner was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of pediatric cancer two years ago, at only three years old.

On April 9, 2009 a cancerous tumor from Tanner’s back was removed and a long journey of chemotherapy and recovery began.

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Tanner finished 14 weeks of chemo and 6 weeks of radiation in February, 2010.

“Throughout his entire chemo treatments he didn’t even really know he was sick, there was nothing he didn’t do or couldn’t do. The only thing was he had no hair,” said Tanner’s mother Stephanie.  

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Now he is five years old and nine months in remission. A healthy young boy playing T-ball and basketball and starting kindergarten in August.

Because of the response from the community, Moore decided that she needed to give back.

She founded Tanner's Touch, non-profit organization developed in honor of Tanner. 

“Because of the outpouring of support for my little warrior, we decided to start an organization to give to other little warriors like Tanner,” said Moore on the foundation’s facebook page.

On Saturday, Moore and Tanner’s Touch held their second annual Valentine’s Day Gala at the Antrim 1844 in Taneytown.

More than 150 people attended the event, which included an inspirational story from a cancer survivor, a silent auction and a performance by Sykesville based band .   

Last year proceeds from the event went to the family of a nine year old girl who died of cancer whose family couldn’t afford a gravestone.

This year funds will go towards pediatric cancer research at John’s Hopkins. 


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