BOZEMAN, Mont. – A local family is taking on a meaningful challenge this summer by raising money for cancer research.
This summer, Caden Shrauger, a 16-year-old sophomore at Bozeman High, is participating in the Ultimate Hike in Jackson for the second year.
“I remember at the end of the last hike last year, mom kind of broke down crying and was like, I remember when you couldn’t walk because you had cancer,” Caden said.
Caden’s mom, Pam Shrauger, reflected on her son’s fight with cancer. “He couldn’t walk when he was three because of the pain in his bones from cancer. And so those memories kind of came flooding back to me as we were finishing this really difficult 19-mile hike,” she said.
At the age of three, Caden was diagnosed with stage four cancer. The family endured 18 months of intense treatment in Seattle, which included chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell transplant, and immunotherapy. They spent a year and a half living in their RV at the Seattle Children’s Hospital parking lot, returning to Montana for only 20 days during that period.
Pam described the ordeal: “Like everything possible, they threw at it. Chemo, radiation, stem cell transplant, immunotherapy. He went through the wringer in that. And we came back home, thinking he was in remission and got some results that weren’t as encouraging. And so, he went on some clinical trials and was really at the mercy of research for much of his four and a half years of treatment.”
The family’s resilience and commitment to each other remained strong throughout the challenging journey. “Camryn was five months old when he was diagnosed, and we basically just said, ‘home is wherever we are,'” Pam said.
Jason Shrauger, Caden’s dad, reflected on their past and the significance of their hikes today. “I think at the time, you’re not thinking about this stuff you’re thinking about is he going to get out of this round of chemo and walk out the hospital door and go home? Now it’s a complete 180. You look back at it and go, wow, he made it through it and is still here today to do these hikes. That’s pretty incredible. But I think what’s even as incredible is we’ve stuck together as a family and get to do this as a family,” he said.
This summer, Caden and his mom are heading back for the hike, doubling the size of their team. They have been training since June and are serious about their fundraising efforts for pediatric cancer research.
“Yeah, we’ve raised almost $20,000 right now with our whole team,” said Caden.
The family has been actively sending out emails, mailing letters, hanging posters around Bozeman, posting on social media, and talking with their community to build support. Every step of their training has been special for them.
“All of our training hikes we’ve done as a family. So like, we’ve started from three miles like Caden said. And on Saturday we did 17 miles,” Camryn Shrauger said.
“I just like how we get to, like, just be as a family on that one day, and we get to just talk the whole time we hike,” Camryn added.
“We just gradually built up, progressively getting longer hikes, more elevation gain. We’ve done a lot of the peaks around here this summer,” said Caden.
Jason acknowledged the maturity and dedication of his son, “16-year-old kids generally aren’t thinking about raising money for other people or other causes, and our son is doing that. I don’t like to hear that. He wants to hike 4000ft and three peaks and 17 miles, but if he’s going to do it, I’m going to follow along and do it with him,” he said.
Pam emphasized their family’s mission. “Our team is Team FC. And that’s been kind of our battle cry from the very beginning. FC stands for a lot of colorful things, but for us, it’s fight cancer for Caden, find a cure.”
The Ultimate Hike will take place on September 21, 2024. For more information and to support the cause by donating to “Team FC,” visit Caden’s CureSearch fundraising page for Children’s Cancer.
