When Robyn Raphael’s five-year-old son, Keaton, passed away after a long battle with cancer in 1997, her life was changed forever.

“After staying home for a few weeks in a complete fog, I knew I had to get busy and do something,” Raphael recalls. She channeled her grief into the Keaton Raphael Memorial (childcancer.org), an organization that provides information, emotional support, and funds for families with a child going through cancer treatment. The Memorial also helps raise awareness about childhood cancer, which Raphael identifies as one of the most underfunded areas of cancer research.  

At noon on March 10, the Keaton Raphael Memorial and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will hold an event at the Westfield Galleria in Roseville in which volunteers will shave their heads to help raise funds for childhood cancer research. For Raphael, this kind of activity brings her one step closer to eradicating childhood cancer forever so no one will have to experience what she went through with Keaton. “It’s been a journey,” Raphael says. “I’ve had the honor to meet so many parents since my cancer journey started 15 years ago...it’s made me think about what’s important, and how precious our children really are.”

For more about Robyn Raphael, and other local happenings and information, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style – Roseville, Granite Bay, Rocklin edition. Click on the Get Your Copy link on this Web site for some of our newsstand locations; click on the Subscribe link on this Web site to become a regular subscriber, or to order a copy of this issue or one of our back issues, please email  [email protected], or call 916-988-9888.