‘Light of Day’ memoir tells story of Portland family’s heartbreaking struggle with childhood cancer

Think Out Loud

‘Light of Day’ memoir tells story of Portland family’s heartbreaking struggle with childhood cancer

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Published on Jul 31, 2026, 1:21:18 PM
Total time: 00:42:21

Episode Description

Portland author Lorna MacKinnnon Day has written a new memoir about her son’s diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer when he was 9 years old. “Light of Day,” details the ways her family navigated six years of his treatment for Ewing sarcoma. After his death, she founded the Sam Day Foundation, which advocates for funding childhood cancer research and supports the families of children living with cancer. Nationally, only 4% of federal cancer research money goes toward childhood cancer, according to the Pediatric Research Foundation. This year the Sam Day Foundation and Oregon Health & Science University secured a $3.17 million research grant to fund pediatric cancer research. MacKennon Day joins us to share more about her son Sam and her own experience in his fight to both survive and live well.

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