Charity founder, 29, fights stage 4 breast cancer
Kate Crawford steps down as CEO of Project Sweet Peas
UPDATED 7:58 PM EDT Apr 25, 2013
Kate Crawford was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in February. At that time, she stepped down from her position as CEO of the charity, Project Sweet Peas, which she founded four years ago. Project Sweet Peas helps families who have children in critical care units, and was Kate's creation after her first child died in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's Hospital.
Now she spends a lot of time at another hospital in Pittsburgh. For two hours once a week, Crawford sits in a chemotherapy room at Magee-Womens Hospital. The cancer has now spread from both breasts to her liver, head, shoulder, ribs, spine and pelvis.
Related link: Kate Crawford Rockin Runners on Facebook
Related link: Kate Crawford Rockin Runners on Facebook
Now, her three children have become her focus and her reason to be the best mother she can be, despite her pain and fear.
Her husband, Steve, a police officer in their hometown of Rostraver in Westmoreland County, is full of admiration for his wife.
" I admire her sheer determination to want to do everything for the children. She wants them to smile from ear to ear regardless of what pain she is in," Steve said.
The level of Crawford's disease is daunting. Her doctor told her that she has less than a 5 percent chance of being cured. When she first found out how much the cancer had spread, she asked the doctors if she was going to die.
"They said they would try to not let that happen," Crawford said.
As news of her cancer spread through social media, Kate became the focus of fundraisers, a charity bucket list, and invitations. The Pittsburgh Pirates asked her and her family to a baseball game, and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle gave the kids a tour of the clubhouse.
Crawford is also walking in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure on Mother's Day for the first time. She will be leading her own team of 40 people, one of the biggest teams in the race.
But in the end, what she really wants is for her children to remember things they have done as a family.
"Even though mummy was sick, mummy tried her hardest. They got to see things with me so that they have good memories," Crawford said.
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I admire her sheer determination to want to do everything for the children. She wants them to smile from ear to ear regardless of what pain she is in," Steve said. breast actives
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