Maryland Trek
with Justin Berk
Age: 16
Type of Cancer: Ewing Sarcoma
Treatment Status: Cancer free; final chemo cycles underway, expected to finish mid-September
Before cancer, Kayden was busy breaking records. A competitive weightlifter, he broke the national deadlift record three times and the squat record twice within about a year—records he still holds—deadlifting 325 pounds at a body weight of just 115. He also represented the United States in speed skating in France and won a national gold medal. He's a DJ. He runs his own lawn care business. “He's very modest,” his mom, Kelly, said. “He doesn't tell you all this stuff.”
So when Kayden injured his leg at a weightlifting event, it seemed like part of the sport. Doctors called it a hematoma after an X-ray, and for about a year, the pain would flare whenever he pushed his leg hard. In January 2026, he finally had an MRI—and scans revealed Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
“I wasn't really sad, I wasn't really mad. I just had to accept it,” Kayden said. He knew his time in the gym was about to end, so he spent his last days before treatment there, in his safe space, taking it all in. Within days he was at Johns Hopkins, and treatment began within the week.
The chemo worked. His limb salvage surgery—an eight-hour operation—replaced part of his femur, his entire knee, and most of his tibia with metal, and surgeons rotated one of his calf muscles over the knee so his leg could extend. Recovery was brutal: eight weeks Kelly can only describe as the hardest stretch of their lives, with a hospitalization for infection and an urgent follow-up surgery in July. But in the last few weeks, everything turned. Kayden is up on crutches, learning to walk again, cancer free, with just four chemo cycles to go.
“The chemo wasn't even that bad, to be honest,” he said. “I got extremely lucky throughout this whole thing, and I'm extremely grateful.” His plans are already set: the moment his port comes out, he's headed straight back to the gym—and then maybe MMA. “Without kicking, though.”
Kelly credits his determination: “Anything he has done, he has given 110 percent. He's never given up, and he's had such a positive attitude. He is the strongest person I know.” His grandparents are there every single day. “It's all about teamwork,” his family says. “He's the one fighting the battle every day. It's been a marathon, and we're almost at that finish line.”
Through Just In Power Kids, the family received parking passes, meal support, and most importantly: people who understand. “Talking to Bethany, knowing that she understands—your organization has been so wonderful,” Kelly said. The family hopes to come back next year, not as honorees but as participants, to give back.
“It's really honorable to have his face out there,” Kelly said. “This is the face of cancer. And it is an honor for you to represent him.” Kayden put it simply: “An honor. A blessing. Knowing that there's people out there like you that we never knew of, that care so much—thank yous are not even enough.”
