"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."
Mother Teresa

Smile

Cancer stripped her of everything including her life but it could not steal away God's LOVE, PEACE and the JOY that radiated through her. Korrine never stopped SMILING!
Korrine Lannie Croghan

Korrine Croghan was a vivacious 14-year-old girl who lived all of her life in Livermore, CA. She had a love for animals, sports, and most of all, family. Korrine was a straight “A” student while attending Mendenhall Middle School and was working hard in her first trimester at Granada High. She was a great friend to many and was everything that a brother, mother and father could ask for in a daughter. Korrine was the type of girl who would greet you with a wide smile and look into your eyes and truly would want to know how you were doing

Korrine & Cancer

On December 20th, 2007, Korrine was diagnosed with Choriocarcinoma with a germ cell element. Choriocarcinoma is a very rare type of cancer in teenage girls and inflicts less than 200 nationwide each year. Although the cancer started in her left ovary, the cancer had spread to her right ovary, lungs and liver. After the removal of a cantaloupe sized tumor in her left ovary on December 21st of 2007, Korrine, endured 10 months of intense chemotherapy designed for adult men.

During the course of her treatment, Korrine suffered many complications. In early April of 2007, her liver began to bleed. After staying at Kaiser Oakland for almost two weeks, Korrine was transfered to UCSF and spent a month in the intensive care unit. The doctors at UCSF Medical Center were finally able to stop her bleeding liver, but, not before it filled her abdomen with 5 liters of blood that had to be drained via a tube inserted into her stomach. On top of that, both of Korrines’ lungs collapsed while undergoing a CT scan that almost took her life. Because of that, 2 liters of fluid needed to be drained off of her lungs with the use of another drainage tube. Throughout her treatment Korrine needed numerous blood and platelet transfusions. She had nosebleeds that lasted an hour on several occasions. At one point, she had 18 intravenous tubes running through her body filled with anti-bacterials, anti-fungals, nutrition, painkillers and chemotherapy. Korrine miraculously made it through those tough days at UCSF and returned to Kaiser Hospital in Oakland. She was finally stable and was released to go home in late June. Just as things were starting to look up for her, she suffered septic shock in July that forced her to go back into intensive care at Kaiser in Santa Clara for 2 weeks.

Korrine returned home in late July and went through imaging scans to see if the cancer had disappeared. The scans always came back good, but not great. In an effort to kill and stop the remaining cancer cells, she underwent an emergency round of chemotherapy in early September. Unfortunately, it did kill the remaining cancer and her doctors had run out of options.

Korrine spent her last days at home with her family reading books and loving on her cats and dog. She passed away quietly, at home, on October 27th, 2008. Through it all, Korrine had a positive attitude and never gave up or complained. Many consider Korrine a hero.

Team KC

The Team KC website was originally started as a way to encourage, educate, raise awareness, and keep friends and family informed with accurate information on Korrine's treatment and progress. Family, classmates, friends, community members, and complete strangers rallied to support Korrine and her family through her fight against Choriocarcinoma. We were amazed by the amount of support we received, and it is now our desire to give back. In March, 2009, Team KC became an official nonprofit by joining forces with Kaiser Foundation Hospital. All monies raised by Team KC will directly benefit pediatric cancer patients and their families. All monetary contributions are tax deductible.

Our Mission: To help improve the quality of life of pediatric cancer patients and their families. We wish to supply children with fun activities, toys and anything else that will brighten and better their lives. Monies will also be used to help parents pay for bills and defray the costs of gas, food and lodging that go along with caring for a child with cancer.

Stay Positive, LIVESTRONG & Welcome to Team KC!

*This is the official Team KC website and the only website approved by the Croghan family. Please do not use content, images, or video from this site without permission. This is an effort to respect the family's privacy and ensure that all content is accurate and approved. Thank you for your cooperation.
A Note From Korrine (written after her 4th round of Chemo)...

Hello everyone! It's me, Korrine. I just wanted to take a
moment to thank each and every one of you for supporting me through emails,
visits, food, gifts, and most importantly, prayer. Without it, I probably
wouldn't have made it this far. Anyways, on a happier note, I am happy to
announce that I am feeling very good. This last round of chemo hit me pretty
hard, but I think that it is more exiting to end things with a big BANG! I will
try to start writing things for the blog now that my chemo therapy is over, but
until then, just know that I love every single one of you and I am always
thinking about my family, friends, and even the people who I've never met
before. Thanks for joining my battle and for making this experience "The
Experience of a Lifetime." LIVESTRONG! And stay positive.

Korrine Lannie Croghan

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Update # 6

Hello Everyone! Today was started as a hard day for Korrine and her family, but ended as one of the best to date. A bed opened up at the hospital and she was readmitted at about 6:00 PM. She will stay for a few days and will hopefully be home by the end of the week. All of the nurses were so happy to see her and I know that they will take very good care of her.


Today Korrine was able to drink a few Ensures, had a protein bar, and was even able to eat "Guacamole and bread." When she told me what she ate I said "oh, did you have chips and guacamole?" She said, "No, just guacamole spread on bread." I asked her if she had had that before and she said "no, but I really liked it." Nice invention, Uncle Matt!

The Lord gives strength to his people;
The Lord blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 29:11

Today's Biggest Blessings:

1. Korrine held down all of her food and is feeling stronger today! She is stable and in great spirits.

2. A few days ago, I got an email from Paige, who plays on the UC Berkeley Women's Water Polo team. She told me that the entire team had signed a ball for Korrine and that it was ready to be picked up and delivered. I met her at her apartment in Berkeley and she was such a nice girl. They wrote "KORRINE" on the ball in big letters and every member of the team signed it. She said that all of the girls on the team have been following Korrine's story and that they are all rooting for Team KC! Korrine was SO excited and loved the ball! So, a big THANK YOU to the girls for making her feel so special and especially to Paige for coordinating.

3. Korrine's dentists, Dr. Marcel and Dr. Solomon bought her a brand new MacBook laptop, a Wireless Card, and gift certificates to iTunes. We cannot tell you how much this means to our family and especially to Korrine. She will now be able to access her email, this blog, and even record video messages so you can see and hear from her in "real time." This is such a blessing and will keep Korrine's mind occupied. It will also allow her to stay connected to all of you. So, another huge THANK YOU to Dr. Marcel and Dr. Solomon.

Korrine loves hearing from you and was able and catch up on emails and blog posts today. She especially loves hearing about how her classmates are doing, and getting updates on school, friends, etc. Unfortunately she isn't able to reply, but will do so as soon as she is feeling better. Please keep those posts/emails coming!

We are still requesting there be no unscheduled visitors and/or phone calls.

LIVINGSTRONG Everyday,
The Croghan Family

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Korrine,

We wanted to let you know we are behind you 110%!

LIVESTRONG!

-The Lance Armstrong Foundation

Anonymous said...

Good morning Corrine,
I'm sorry that you are having such a difficult time -
I'm looking forward to seeing your smiling face again. I miss seeing you walking over to Smith from Mendenhall in the afternoons and seeing your big smile as you say hi to me.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Hope to see you soon,
Mr. Spence (Mike)

Anonymous said...

Hi Korrine,
I wanted to let you and your family know that you are in my thoughts and prayers every day. You don't know me, but I went to school with your Dad at MSJ and heard about your blog from another former MSJ classmate. You are truly an inspiration and I will be wearing my LIVESTRONG bracelet everyday. Keep smiling! With love, the Heffel Family in San Ramon Heather (Cargile)

Anonymous said...

Hey Korrine - it's Miss Jenice just wanting to tell you that I think about you and pray for you every day. I was a little grossed out by the guacamole on bread idea - but if you like it, go for it! Love the water polo ball idea - what a sweet thing for the team to do. I came in to see you right after surgery - you were pretty sleepy! I think you're a great fighter in a very little body - a real hero. Love you :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Korrine
This is Karen, Brandon from water polo Mom. I am so sorry to here what you are going threw. I know you'r a strong girl and will hang in there. We are constant in our minds and on our hearts and are praying a couple of times a day for you and your family. I am so happy to here about your new computer,and your itune gift card, and I love this site. We have about 15,000 diffrent sonds on our ipod account and lots, and lots of CD from all diffrent tipes of musice. We have several Christian rock CD's that you may like. You are welcome to them, Just have your Dad let us know, and he can come by and pick them up for you.
And I to love guac on bread, well I like it as avacado on toasted bread but same thing.
We love you
Karen

Anonymous said...

dear korrine~ my name is Audrey Walke i dnt know if you know or remember me but i played on your softball team quite a while ago! But i heard that you had been diagnosed with cancer and i wanted to let you know that i was thinking about you! I hope you are doing well! I want you to know that i am behind you 100 percent and i am here for you! You are one of the bravest, strongest people i know!

Anonymous said...

Korrine,

I look up to your positive attitude in this whole situation. You are such a great role model for other people with cancer, and even the people that don't have it. Everybody at school misses you, and can't wait to see you! We miss having your smiling face at school, but are very excited that you're getting better. We always love to read the good news on your blog. Ms.Bloss even has your blog site address on her white board for kids to see.

lots of love, :)
Kimberly

Anonymous said...

Hi Korrine,

I just wanted to let you know that I'm sending as much positive energy your way as I possess. You are an inspiration, to still be smiling through all the nausea. I wish nobody had to go through this. Stay strong.

Anonymous said...

Hey Korrine,

Hope you're enjoying your laptop. What a great present! Once you are home, I have a special surprise for you! Nobody knows what it is, so don't try and worm it out of your parents. See you soon.

Your neighbor, friend, and personal maid,
Nick

P.S. I have been forever traumatized by so much pink in your room.

Trevor said...

Korrine,

I'm in your dad's old hood right now (Michigan), but I am still thinking about you and praying for you every hour. I'm so happy to hear that you are getting hungry and holding the food down. I wish I could donate about 15 pounds to you right now (I have some to spare!). Hang in their goddaughter - you need to get strong for our next TP trip this summer!

Love,

Trevor

Anonymous said...

Hey Korrine,

It sounds like your are feeling better and that is fantastic. Thats great that your doctors bought you a new laptop so you can be connected to all of your supporters. I look forward to seeing more updates and pictures of your recovery. Oh and you'll have to tell me the truth later if guacamole and bread was actually a tasty snack :)

Hope to talk to ya soon
Steve Vieira

Sue said...

Hey CutiePie!

So glad to hear that today was a good day for you. Keep eating, and getting stronger!! I got a LIVESTRONG bracelet yesterday and will wear it every day... it will constantly remind me of how grateful I am for so many things, and the beautiful girl I wear it in honor of.

Hugs to you and your family!!
Sue Bakalar

Anonymous said...

Hi, again!
I miss you! i hope you feel lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and infinity lots better, a.s.a.p.!
Love,
Kimberly :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) Ps. and lots and lots and lots better...

Anonymous said...

Hey Korrine,
Hang in there Korrine. I wear my livestong bracelet to school everday and think of you every time I see it. Everyone at water polo misses your bright smile and wonderful effort. I can't wait to play with you again! Have fun on your new laptop c:!
Lots of Love,
Emma

Shellee Clore said...

Hi Korrine, Just wanted you to know your in our prayers. And we believe, God does answer prayers. You are one of God's children, that's here to show the rest of us how to be strong, courageous, and not run, when facing lifes many challenges. I love the way you "LIVESTRONG" putting your FAITH in God. Let your light for Jesus shine brighter than ever. Every time I see a picture of your smiling face, it warms my heart. God will bless you and your family. Stay strong girl! :) Hi Matt, Dana, & Sean. Love Rod, Shellee, Brandon, Colton, Ginger, Bucky, & Rocky

Anonymous said...

Hi Korrine, Just wanted you to know your in our prayers. We believe God does answer prayers. Your one of God's children, here to show the rest of how to be strong, courageous, & not run when facing one of lifes many challenges. I love the way you "LIVESTRONG" putting your Faith in God. Let your light for Jesus shine, brighter than ever. Everytime I see a picture of your cute, smiling face, it warms my heart. Trust in God. He will heal you, and then bless you & your family. Stay strong girl! :) Hi Matt, Dana, & Sean. Love Rod, Shellee, Ginger, Brandon, Colton, Bucky, & Rocky Clore

Anonymous said...

hi! It's Alicia Costa
I don't know if you know me
But just wishing you well, and hope you get better soon.

Anonymous said...

Hi Korrine,
It's Cece Daly(Josh and McKenna's mom). I just wanted you to know how much we believe in you. We know your faith is what will get you through this (Faith...is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see, Hebrews 11:1). We all hope for you to get better and because of our faith we believe you will!!!
It was so special to see the photos of McKenna's 10th Birthday party at the hotel in your friends photo's!! I remember that party so well. You girls had so much fun swimming, running down the halls and doorbell ditching the 13 year old girls down the hall having a Birthday party, too!! It is neat to see all the Arroyo Mocho girls together in the photos.Fun, fun memories.
We are keeping you and your family in our prayers. Stay strong Korrine and keep your faith.
Love always, Cece Daly ;~}

Anonymous said...

Hi Dana,

My name is Danielle Holmes and I am Patty DiGirolamo's daughter in law. She told me about your daughter and about what an amazing and lovely family you have. My thoughts are with your daughter and your family! :) Take care of yourself and your family!