Twelve-year-old Cora is, in her mom’s words, “a tiny bundle of muscle with a strong personality.” Being small and muscular helps Cora as a gymnast and a cheerleader for the town’s local football team. "Cora is a flyer and a tumbler – she’s always happiest on the go and upside down,” says her mom, Stacey.

In summer 2023, Cora developed a recurring cough. The allergist they consulted noticed a small bump on Cora’s throat and suggested they get it checked out. Stacey says as soon as doctors saw the ultrasound, they knew something was wrong.

“It was immediate,” she says. “Not only did the ultrasound show something, but they said, 'We can't treat this here. You have to go to CHOP.’”

Their local doctor referred them to Pediatric Endocrinologist Andrew J. Bauer, MD, medical director of the Pediatric Thyroid Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), who confirmed the diagnosis: papillary thyroid cancer, a slow-growing cancer that presents few symptoms and is extremely rare in children.

By the time Cora’s tumor was discovered, it had spread to her lymph nodes, and full-body scans detected thyroid cancer in her lungs as well. In November 2023, CHOP Otolaryngologist Ken Kazahaya, MD, MBA, performed a 10-hour surgery on Cora to remove her thyroid and 75 lymph nodes, 26 of which tested positive for metastatic thyroid carcinoma. The surgery was successful, but Cora needed further treatment.

Genetic testing of the tumor detected a thyroid cancer-driving alteration, an NTRK1 fusion, a gene that can be targeted with a specific medication that inhibits the tumor’s growth and causes it to shrink. The presence of this NTRK1 fusion made Cora eligible for a clinical trial co-led by Dr. Bauer and CHOP Pediatric Oncologist Theodore W. Laetsch, MD.

Cora joined the trial in February 2024. For six months, she took larotrectinib, essentially an oral form of chemotherapy that targets the NTRK1 fusion and inhibits growth of the cancer cells. Because the drug targeted that specific gene, Cora avoided some of the harsher side effects of traditional chemotherapy. She was able to stay in school, for example, and didn’t lose her hair.

Most importantly? She resumed cheerleading and gymnastics. “Of course, she didn't feel her best every day,” Stacey says. “But she got to keep doing this thing that she loves and didn't have to lose a whole year. That was amazing.” So amazing, in fact, that in May 2024, Cora won first place all around in her gymnastics division and age group in the YMCA NJ state championships.

Cora finished larotrectinib in August 2024 and received radioactive iodine therapy (RAI) soon after. One of the goals of Dr. Bauer’s and Dr. Laetsch’s clinical trial is to determine if larotrectinib can make RAI more effective. In February 2025, Cora’s lung scans showed no trace of cancer. After follow-up scans in September 2025, Drs. Bauer and Laetsch declared Cora officially in remission.

Stacey believes the multidisciplinary support that CHOP provided made Cora’s treatment easier. “Every doctor, nurse, social worker, psychologist, addressed Cora directly, and made sure she understood what was happening,” she says. “Preparing her for what she was going through – the scariest possible thing for a kid – made an unbelievable difference in her outlook.” Stacey and her husband, Todd, were so passionate about the difference CHOP has made in their lives that they created a Pediatric Thyroid Center fundraiser for Cora’s 11th birthday. It raised more than $22,000 – well beyond their $15,000 goal.

Because Cora’s thyroid was removed, she’ll take thyroid replacement medication every day for the rest of her life. Throughout the entire experience, Stacey has marveled at Cora’s steely determination. “The same way she locks into her gymnastics training, she locked into her treatment plan,” she says. “She was a model patient. Any one of us would have fallen apart, but she was just like, ‘Nah, I’m gonna beat this.’”