
(Photo by Zach Jensen)
By Zach Jensen,

Pictured (from left to right) are Kory, Ruby, Charly, Amy and Sawyer Courtney. The family donned their “Save the Butts” t-shirts, which were sold as a fundraiser to help them offset the costs associated with Kory’s stage 4 colorectal cancer. (Photo submitted)
The Iowa Cancer Registry is projecting that the tall-corn state will have the second-highest rate of new cancer diagnoses in the nation this year. And the Decorah Basketball Association’s fourth-grade girls team has formed another team to help local families offset the costs of battling the disease.
The team of girls held their Stand up to Cancer fundraiser on March 21 at April Bril’s home in Minowa Heights, where they offered face painting and sold various children’s items, books, arts and crafts items as well as baked goods. She said the fundraiser was her daughter Tessa’s idea — as a way of honoring friends and family who have been lost to cancer while also helping those who have been diagnosed.
“My brother in law passed away from cancer a year ago,” April Bril said. “My father-in-law died from cancer when he was only 44, and we have a really close friend who has cancer. A lot of people are affected by it.”
In fact, Kory Courtney, a friend of the Brils family, overcame his cancer, and his daughter Ruby was one of the young basketballers hosting the recent fundraiser.
Kory Courtney was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in April of 2024, and the family said his prognosis was dim. The cancer had spread to lymph nodes in his pelvis and abdomen, and he said doctors with the Mayo Clinic told him he only had until the mid-to-late summer of this year to live. But, after receiving a second opinion from doctors at the City of Hope Cancer Center and undergoing additional treatments, his cancer is now believed to be in remission.
“Just in the last week is when we got that news,” said Kory, an operations analyst with Decorah Bank and Trust. “So, we’re very happy about that.”
Kory’s wife Amy said her husband’s case is rare, explaining his symptoms didn’t present themselves as they would in most cancers. Whereas many patients might find an out-of-place mark or lump, Amy said Kory’s symptoms — excruciating pain — came on suddenly and without warning. Kory said something was clearly wrong, and he was undergoing surgery within 24 hours.
Ruby was in school when she found out her father had been admitted into the hospital.
Full article available in the April 3 Decorah Leader.
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