Teagan Lawlor is 7 years old, loves her stuffed kitty, Hawaii, and is always laughing about some secret joke. For such a happy girl, it’s hard to imagine her going through any kind of pain.

But cancer doesn’t discriminate.

Teagan has osteosarcoma, a common type of malignant bone cancer, in her upper left hip, which required a hip replacement and extensive chemotherapy. Her parents, Wendy and Darren, have driven the four-hour trip from Spanish Springs to the Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, Calif. more than 20 times through the rain and snow — with Darren sleeping in the car in the hospital parking garage more times than he could count.

“There were times I literally had to pull her (Teagan) into the car,” Wendy said, explaining that she refers to the Oakland hospital as the “O” word to avoid upsetting Teagan. “It was a nightmare.”

Now, a year later, Teagan is all smiles again and is, luckily, cancer free. But Teagan’s miracle, as Wendy acknowledged, is not a reality for a lot of kids because of the high cost of and lack of available cancer research.

The Keaton Raphael Memorial for childhood cancer, named for a California child who died of cancer in 1998, has worked to change all that by pushing for the passage of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act (CCCA), which was signed into law in July by President Bush. This law authorizes $30 million a year for five years to fund collaborative pediatric cancer clinical trials research and create a national childhood cancer database for cures and is considered monumental by cancer awareness promoters and doctors alike.

“Childhood cancer is currently the number one disease-related killer of our nation’s children,” executive director of KRM Lizzie Dalton said in a press release statement. “The passage of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act will allow for great strides in improving the cure rates for children diagnosed with this horrible disease.”

With the Lawlor family spending an estimated $700,000 in medical bills alone, the passage of this act is crucial for all families, Wendy said.

“Before, no one was speaking for the children (in Congress),” Wendy said, explaining that Teagan had undergone clinical research trials which best pinpointed the most effective treatment for her body, while many children are denied due to expenses. “No child should be turned down for a treatment.”

Dr. Caroline Hastings, Teagan’s doctor who commutes from Oakland three times a week to Renown Hospital, feels strongly that treatment opportunities need to be explored and the CCCA is a great step.

“This act will really allow, while not all, certainly for a larger number of treatments,” Hastings said, explaining that the Children’s Oncology Group, which she is a part of, is a national organization that pools research findings and will benefit directly from this act. “It takes money (for research). This is pretty exciting.”

And Wendy fully agrees, saying that after she went through Teagan’s full year of chemotherapy treatments she now “expects the unexpected.”

“If something can go wrong, expect it,” Wendy said, thankful that her family’s lives are just now starting to get back to normal. “We’re thankful that this bill got passed through. This will help more kids like her (Teagan) be cancer free.”

Hopefully, cancer free for years to come, as KRM hopes to renew the CCCA after the five years are expired.

“We will absolutely keep working on another installment,” said Shirley Folkins-Roberts, a team leader for CureSearch Nevada, a cancer research and advocacy group that also lobbied for passage of the CCCA. “There will always be a need to make childhood cancer to be a top priority.”

Teagan’s top priority these days are physical therapy for her left leg, her upcoming eighth birthday at Disney World, enjoying herself and making people laugh.

“I want to be an actress and singer someday,” Teagan said, unsure of what type of music she wants to sing.

And she mentioned she wants an orange cat, just like Hawaii.

“This bill was huge,” Wendy said, admitting that being home with her recovering daughter has been relaxing. “We’re very lucky. They (children) are our future.”

For more information, visit the Keaton Raphael Memorial Web site at www.childcancer.org.