38th annual El Tour de Tucson to raise funds for Banner Children’s Diamond Children’s Medical Center
08/02/2021
Elianna’s journey from cancer to
recovery was made gentler and
kinder by her health care and Child
Life teams at Diamond Children’s.
In the blink of an eye, two-year-old Elianna went from a joyful, curious toddler to battling kidney cancer, after a large mass was found in her stomach. Diagnosed as a Wilms tumor, it is the most common type of kidney cancer in children.
Admitted that night to Banner Children’s at Diamond Children’s Medical Center in Tucson, Elianna and her parents did not leave the hospital for a month. Six weeks of chemotherapy was followed by surgery. An aggressive tumor, which had metastasized to Elianna’s lung, required four more inpatient stays, with five consecutive days of chemotherapy each time.
In June, after Elianna’s after-treatment scans, Elianna’s mother, Vanessa, received incredible news: “No sign of disease!” she exclaims. “Her lungs are clear, kidneys are clear. They got all of the tumor out.”
Elianna’s journey from cancer to recovery was made gentler and kinder by her health care and Child Life teams at Diamond Children’s. “The staff was just amazing,” Vanessa recalls, adding that the nurses walked them through every step of the process and Child Life specialists were always by Elianna’s side – playing games to calm and distract her, while preparing Elianna for upcoming treatments and procedures.
Two-year-old Elianna went from a
joyful, curious toddler to battling
kidney cancer, after a large mass
was found in her stomach.
Banner Children’s at Diamond Children’s Medical Center provides pediatric care for children, from newborns to teens. It is the only pediatric medical facility in Arizona connected to an academic research facility — the University of Arizona Steele Children’s Research Center — where physician-scientists provide access to groundbreaking science and research to advance children’s health.
And, once again, children like Elianna – and so many more – will benefit from El Tour de Tucson, as Diamond Children’s is the grateful beneficiary of this year’s event on November 20.
El Tour de Tucson
Held annually the Saturday before Thanksgiving and sponsored by Banner - University Medicine, El Tour is a fundraising adventure ride attracting over 6,000 cyclists of all ages and abilities from throughout the United States and worldwide. Participants are beginners, intermediate, advanced, and professional cyclists riding 100% human powered bicycles.
Banner impacts the lives of thousands on a day-to-day basis and will help do its part in the cycling world this November, when riders from all over descend on Tucson and Southern Arizona for one of the top 10 best bicycling events in Arizona and the United States. Proceeds benefit a wide range of specialty care programs, technological innovations, and state-of-the-art medical facilities available to patients from birth through end of life at Diamond Children’s Medical Center in Tucson.
Join the race
To register to ride, please visit https://www.bikereg.com/el-tour-de-tucson. Be sure to select “Diamond Children’s Medical Center - Fundraiser”. Not a cyclist? Not a problem. You can still support the cause by creating or joining a fundraising team.