Pedal the Cause

TEAM KYLE 2026

Five Years. One Mission. More Time.

Five years ago, on October 24, 2021, our lives changed forever.

My husband, Kyle, was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. At the time, our children were just 4 years old, 2 years old, and 11 months old.

How could this be? We had just started our family. We had so many plans, dreams, and a lifetime of memories we were supposed to make together.

This wasn’t how our story was supposed to go.

The prognosis was devastating. Nearly every doctor we met was ready to recommend hospice. But there was one who wasn’t willing to give up on Kyle.

Dr. Kian Lim.

He agreed to take on Kyle’s incredibly complex case and give him another chance at life.

And because of him and his extraordinary team, we were given 17 more months with Kyle.

After five months of standard chemotherapy, Kyle was given an opportunity that would change the course of his journey. He became the very first human patient to receive an experimental treatment that Dr. Lim and his research team had spent years developing.

Kyle was patient number ONE.

I believed from the very beginning that God was going to give us a miracle. And in many ways, He did.

For the next 12 months, Kyle fought courageously. His tumor markers continued to fall, eventually reaching what we were told was a nonactive level after nine months of treatment.

We had hope. Real hope.

Sadly, on April 3, 2023, Kyle passed away following complications associated with the intensive treatment he had undergone before becoming eligible for the study.

He was just 47 years old.

Our children lost their daddy. I lost my husband, my best friend, and the future we had imagined together.

But his story didn’t end that day.

And neither did our fight.

I often think about what might have happened if Kyle had been able to receive this promising treatment from the day he was diagnosed. Would he still be here? Would our children still have their dad?

I’ll never know.

But I do know that research gave us something we were told we might not have: more time.

More birthdays. More bedtime stories. More hugs. More memories.

Seventeen months that meant absolutely everything to our family.

And that’s why I refuse to stop fighting.

Since losing Kyle, I’ve made it part of my life’s mission to raise awareness and funding for pancreatic cancer research and other gastrointestinal cancers. Together, with the generosity of an extraordinary community, we’ve helped raise nearly $3 million toward this fight.

We’ve also continued supporting Dr. Lim and his team’s groundbreaking research, with the hope that treatments like the one Kyle received can one day become available to more patients, earlier in their diagnosis.

And perhaps one of the most meaningful parts of this journey is knowing that Kyle’s experience continues to offer hope to other families. Through connections made along the way, someone close to our circle is now pursuing the same treatment Kyle received.

That is why research matters.

That is why funding matters.

And that is why every single donation matters.

Cancer doesn’t care how old you are, how healthy you are, how many children you have, or how many plans you’ve made.

I’ve seen that firsthand, not only through Kyle, but through one of my closest friends, who faced stage IIIB colorectal cancer at just 31 years old. She fought through treatment while continuing to show extraordinary strength in her career, her fitness community, and her relationships. She survived her own battle, only to become one of my greatest supporters when cancer struck our family.

These stories are why I believe so deeply that we are all in this together.

Today, our children are growing up. They’re 9, 7, and almost 6. They continue to honor their daddy in ways that make me incredibly proud. They know their story matters, and they know that even though they can’t bring their daddy back, they can help other children have more time with theirs.

This year, Team Kyle is once again participating in Pedal the Cause, supporting cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids.

We’ve raised nearly $20,000 this year, and we’re working toward our $25,000 goal before fundraising closes on October 31.

We’re so close.

If you’ve supported our family, donated, prayed for us, shared our story, or stood beside us over the past five years, please know how deeply grateful I am.

And if you’ve already donated this year, THANK YOU. Please don’t feel any obligation to give again. Your support has meant more than words can express.

But if you haven’t yet and feel called to help, I would be incredibly grateful.

We cannot bring Kyle back. But we can help change the future for someone else’s husband, wife, mother, father, son, or daughter.

I believe with all my heart that God can take our deepest pain and use it for a greater purpose.

And although this is never the life I would have chosen, I will spend mine doing everything I can to make sure Kyle’s life, his courage, and his contribution to science continue to make a difference.

Five years. One mission. More time.

Because every family deserves more time.

With love and gratitude,

Kira

Ways to support our mission

Donate to TEAM KYLE through Pedal the Cause:

https://www.givesignup.org/team-kyle

Pedal the Cause fundraising closes October 31, 2026.

Thank you for helping us turn heartbreak into hope and giving other families the gift of more time.