Childhood Cancer Survivor Runs Half-Marathon In Cinderella Dress For Charity

1010 WINS- Talk about "a Cinderella story!"

Katy Miles of the United Kingdom was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer at the age of four. Wilm's Tumor, or kidney cancer, only affects about 65 cases in the UK per year.

Little Katy's tumor, her mother Louise, tells 1010 WINS, "was 1.1 liters in volume when found and it had spread to her lungs. She had 6 weeks of chemo to shrink the tumor, then had surgery to remove it along with her left kidney. She then had another 6 months chemo and 1 month of radiotherapy."

Throughout her treatments, Katy chose to wear her favorite Cinderella dress to give her the courage needed to stay strong. As any child would, Katy hated taking her medicine, so Louise awarded her daughter using a star chart. "If she got so many stars for taking them," Louise explains, "she got a new Disney Princess dress."

Katy got the all clear in June of 2005 and, as her mother explains, still longs to be a Disney princess and keeps herself physically fit despite having only one kidney. In the UK, half-marathon participants must be at least 17-years-old, so this year after becoming of age, Katy fulfilled her dream of running for a cause. Katy and her father Gaz signed up for the Great North Run -- the biggest half-marathon in the world, held in Newcastle -- to raise money for teens going through the same ordeal she endured as a child.

And she did the entire run in her favorite princess dress!

Although Katy feels lucky that she doesn't remember too much about her treatments, she feels as a teen who understands the road ahead, it must be incredibly difficult to get a cancer diagnosis.

Thankfully, Katy got the happily ever after that every real-life princess deserves.

Read more about Katy's story and donate to Katy's fundraising page here.

-Joe Cingrana