TRAVERSE CITY — In 2019, Conor Rigan was diagnosed with Anaplastic Ependymoma, an aggressive brain tumor, at just six-months-old.
“Conor is just the most fun and sweet little five-year-old boy. He loves to just run around, play, dig in the dirt, help Dad on the farm, and run and chase after his big sister and little sister,” said Sarah Rigan, Conor’s mom and founder of the More Than Four Foundation.
In the years since that diagnosis, Conor has fought a battle that no child should ever have to face. The Rigan family said they’re doing everything they can to not only help Conor but children all over the world.
“The annual government funding for cancer research, only 4% of the total funding goes directly to pediatric cancers. And within that you have to break it down into so many types of cancer for children. And so, we want cancer to be studied and researched across the board, but we want more to go to children as well because they deserve more than 4%. So, we would really like to see the funding for cancer research go up in general, but then also to devote more to our children because they’re our future,” said Sarah.
Looking at these statistics, the Rigan family knew something needed to be done.
“We have maxed out on all of the treatment options and realized that we really need more research and that costs a lot of money. We knew that it was kind of our time to give back to the cancer community for pediatrics. And so the More Than Four Foundation began,” said Sarah. “Our goal is to raise money for funding for pediatric research and also to just raise awareness for the strong families that are going through this awful journey.”
This year, the More Than Four Foundation is hosting its first annual race to help raise these funds.
“The More Than Four, or 5.04K, is a little bit more than a normal 5K, just so that you can see how small 4% really is. And that’s what that .04 kilometers represents,” said Sarah. “We just want it to be a great time where the community comes together and just shows their physical presence and their financial support, and hopefully we can make an impact on the pediatric cancer research.”
Whether you consider yourself a runner or not, the family said any support goes a long way.
“It means so much to our family. Personally, of course, we’ve been helped along the way from many different organizations, and so now to have the support from the community, not just for our family, but to extend it back to the pediatric cancer community, it really means so much,” said Sarah.
The untimed walk/run is on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 to 11 a.m. in Traverse City. You can sign up here.