Team Sassy Pants is aiming to raise $40,000 for childhood cancer research through CureSearch, making this year's Ultimate Hike part of a campaign rooted in one family's experience. Jennie Astill's daughter Izzy was diagnosed with cancer at age 4 and underwent 13 rounds of chemotherapy before follow-up scans showed she was cancer-free. Now 20, Izzy remains part of the reason Astill has sustained the effort for 15 years.
Astill takes part in the annual Ultimate Hike with Team Sassy Pants, a name inspired by Izzy's personality, according to KUTV. This year's hike is 21 miles; the team is fundraising for CureSearch, with efforts set to continue through the end of October.
A Hike Dedicated to Every Child Who Has Battled Cancer
Astill dedicates each hike to a child who has battled cancer. She has said that sharing the stories of children who did not survive matters deeply to their families, a responsibility she carries with her on the trek.
Astill has been candid about how difficult it was to hear her daughter's diagnosis at age 4. She described the moment as awful, but she has also said she feels grateful now to be on the other side of Izzy's cancer experience, watching her daughter grow into a healthy 20-year-old.
Surprise Donation Boosts the Fundraising Push
Mountain America Credit Union and KUTV recently surprised Astill with a donation aimed at helping Team Sassy Pants edge closer to its $40,000 fundraising target for CureSearch. The gesture comes as Astill's mission enters its 15th year of turning a family's hardest moment into sustained support for other children fighting the disease.
Astill, who is based in Utah, has built her fundraising around a simple throughline: a diagnosis that upended her family's life at Izzy's age of 4 has become a lasting commitment to childhood cancer research, one hike at a time.
Childhood Cancer: National Context
The National Cancer Institute estimated that 14,910 people ages 0 to 19 would be diagnosed with cancer and 1,590 would die of the disease in the United States in 2024. Leukemias, brain and other central nervous system tumors, and lymphomas were among the most common diagnoses in 2016–2020. The institute also reports that the cancer mortality rate among people younger than 20 declined by more than 50% from 1975 to 2022, according to the National Cancer Institute. The National Cancer Institute notes that childhood cancer survivors can develop physical or emotional health problems months or years after treatment. This general information does not establish anything about Izzy's current health or care, according to the institute's childhood cancer overview.
