Kristin Elliott is a three-time synovial sarcoma cancer survivor from the Houston, Texas area. Her cancer journey started in 2006 at age sixteen, when a softball sized mass in her thigh was diagnosed as Stage IV Synovial Sarcoma. An avid all-state athlete at the time, Kristin endured months of chemotherapy. After the chemotherapy failed, Kristin was compelled to undergo an 8 hour surgery to remove the tumor embedded in her muscle with months of radiation to follow. Determined to reclaim her life, Kristin worked

hard to get in shape and was blessed to return for her junior year of high school and volleyball. She continued with her love of missionary work, and was led to Zambia, Africa in the summer of 2007, with her mom and sister. Shortly before she was scheduled to leave, a check-up appointment revealed that Kristin’s cancer had relapsed. This time the tumor was in her lung. Knowing the risks, she insisted on making the trip. When Kristin returned from Africa, she would again turn to surgery to remove the new tumors. Still her thoughts remained with the orphaned children of Zambia who had captured her heart.

In the fall of 2007, the Make-A-Wish Foundation approached Kristin and she knew exactly what she wanted. She asked the organization for starter money to build an orphanage (later named Kristin’s Miracle House) which today is fully functional and self-sustaining. Despite the challenges she faced and her travels abroad, Kristin graduated with her peers from Faith West Academy in 2008. After premiering as the ABC World News Person of the Week and Person of the Year in 2008, Kristin helped fund a hospital clinic for orphans. Her public service efforts were recognized in 2009 when she earned the Jefferson Award for Public Service.

A year after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Baylor University, Kristin’s synovial sarcoma was back. This time, she opted to join a clinical trial through the National Institute of Health in Maryland and in August of 2014, she had another major surgery to remove the remaining sarcoma. Currently, Kristin shows no evidence of disease and was able to make a fifth trip to Zambia, Africa in June 2015. Today, Kristin is a single mother to daughter, Grace. As a result, she hopes to focus her efforts closer to home now. While she continues to raise money for her own non-profit, Kristin’s Heart, she is also looking forward to becoming more involved with the Amschwand Sarcoma Cancer Foundation and serving as an ambassador for those affected by sarcoma cancers. Kristin celebrates a year of being cancer free in the fall of 2015.

KRISTIN ELLIOTT2015 CELEBRATION OF SURVIVORSHIP AWARD

FREDDIE STEINMARK2015 COMMITMENT TO THE CAUSE AWARD

Playing in pain, Freddie Steinmark led the defense as his University of Texas Longhorns football team won the national championship in 1969. Unbeknownst to Freddie, his body had been fighting its own battle all season long against osteosarcoma (a cancerous bone tumor) in his left leg. Two days after he played a key role in “The Game of the Century”—Texas’ thrilling come-from-behind victory over Arkansas, Freddie saw a team doctor about the pain. Upon diagnosis, Freddie was sent to MD Anderson

Cancer Center, where the doctors informed him that treatment would require amputation. With support from his loving family, the gritty, undersized starting safety would tackle sarcoma as he did everything else, head on, as if his life depended on it...and this time, it did.

From his triumph on the field to his struggle against osteosarcoma, Freddie Steinmark's story unfolded in a very public arena. This fall, Freddie's courageous story and his special bond with Texas legendary coach Darrell Royal comes to life in the major motion picture “My All American”, and the biography “Freddie Steinmark”: Faith, Family, Football.

“My All American” depicts Freddie's personal struggle with sarcoma while standing in the spotlight of the University of Texas Longhorns 1969 National Championship. The biography, “Freddie Steinmark”, penned by longtime family friend Bower Yousse and Thomas Cryan, offers moving insight into this remarkable family's love for one another and their unwavering faith amidst heartbreaking odds.

To the nation, Freddie Steinmark was, in Joe Theismann's words, "an inspiration...an incredible person...one of the most courageous people to ever put on a football uniform," but to his family, Freddie was much more than a football legend. It is a privilege to present Freddie's family (including his mother Gloria, late father "Big Fred" and siblings GiGi, P.K. and Sammy) with the Amschwand Sarcoma Cancer Foundation's highest honor, the 2015 Commitment to the Cause Award for their own courage in sharing their family's story in such a public way, and in doing so, bringing about a greater awareness of sarcoma and the needs of families affected by it.