Lina and Colin Easom, with daughter Ilaria, are organizing a benefit walk next Saturday to raise funds to help families with children who have cancer and to boost research. Ilaria was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and responded well to treatment, but the experience left the Easoms with an understanding of the financial hardships involved.

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As the parents of a 5-year-old cancer survivor, Colin and Lina Easom have discovered a form of therapy that can't be found in an office: Ilaria's Walk 'n' Lemonade Fundraiser for Childhood Cancer.

"We are tackling this on two fronts — financially we are giving support immediately to families of children with cancer, and we are trying to help fund better research," Colin Easom said. "It is therapy for me. If I know I can give something back, Ilaria's illness wasn't in vain."

Colin Easom is raising funds for The Melonhead Foundation and Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation at the upcoming Walk 'n' Lemonade next Saturday.

The Phoenix-based Melonhead Foundation is dedicated to supporting the needs of children with cancer and their families who are seeking alternative methods of healing. Support ranges from aid with natural and integrative treatments to financial aid for living expenses, gasoline and other necessities.

Since 2000, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised more than $1 million nationwide to fund research for childhood cancer therapies.

Colin Easom came to understand the significance of such non-profit organizations after his daughter Ilaria was diagnosed with a 4-inch malignant tumor in her chest just days after her third birthday in April 2006. Over the next four months, Ilaria endured four rounds of chemotherapy to shrink the life-threatening tumor before undergoing major surgery.

Easom said homeopathic therapy — including a special diet, vitamins and herbal supplements financed by The Melonhead Foundation — helped support Ilaria's immune system throughout her treatment.

The foundation focuses on natural and integrative healing, and treatment is not covered by insurance.

Melonhead Foundation founder Deb Leone said: "The aspect of families needing financial support is also huge, and no one knows it is there. I talk to families who say, 'I can't make my house payment because I had to quit my job to be at the hospital with my child,' and there aren't resources to help these people."

Leone created the foundation in 1999 in memory of her daughter, Melanie. She said the grass-roots foundation keeps red tape to a minimum with a simple application process. It gives priority to Arizona residents and has had clients on a waiting list for the past two years.

Cancer-related financial difficulties are just another of the many hurdles faced by families such as the Easoms. While Ilaria's form of cancer is rare, it responded well to treatment. She is among the 80 percent to 85 percent of 12,000 children diagnosed annually nationwide who are in remission or cured.

However, her life — and the lives of her family — was forever changed when she suffered a 45 percent hearing loss in both ears due to chemotherapy.

"One study showed that 50 percent of kids treated with chemotherapy are treated by drugs not necessarily approved for pediatric use, and when you talk about survivorship, they might be cancer-free, but 50 to 75 percent have life-altering effects from chemotherapy or radiation that impact them for the rest of their lives," Easom said.

In light of these issues, Easom also is volunteering with the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Arizona. He hopes to establish a long-term-survivorship clinic staffed with pediatric oncologists, neuropsychologists and other specialists in conjunction with University Medical Center.

The entire mission has become very personal to Easom, who considers himself an "average Joe" just stepping up to the plate in response to ongoing support from the community. His incentive is the desire to help families fighting pediatric cancer and to honor friends who have lost the battle.

"My 5-year-old understands that people die," Easom said. "She asks questions about what happens after you die and questions about whether her cancer will come back, and other questions that a 5-year-old shouldn't have to ask. That is why I am involved."