Palisadian Teen is ‘Baking a Difference’

By SARAH SHMERLING | Managing Editor

Supporting cancer research just got sweeter.

Palisadian teenager Abby Nathanson founded Cakes for Cancer—a club at Marymount High School that raises money to help find a cure for lung cancer and to spread awareness—with her best friend, Ruby Garland.

“Cakes for Cancer is a way for me to honor my aunt’s life and help to find a cure so that others hopefully will never have to go through what my aunt did,” Nathanson, who serves as president of Cakes for Cancer, explained. “I knew that I would not be able to complete this task alone, so I called my best friend Ruby and asked her if she would help me.”

Nathanson’s aunt, Jodi, died in September 2015 after an 18-month battle with lung cancer. The idea for Cakes for Cancer stems from the fact that while growing up, one of Nathanson’s favorite things to do was to bake cakes with her aunt and cousin.

“Of course, that was because my Aunt Jodi let me lick the bowl after we were done,” Nathanson explained on her website. “I loved spending the day singing and eating cake with my two favorite people.”

According to the Cakes for Cancer website, most clubs at Marymount have 10-20 members, but on the first day of sign-ups, 116 out of 400 students signed up to join Cakes for Cancer.

Two weeks after the club’s inception, Nathanson and Garland were contacted by the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, which was formed in the late 1960s by a group of scientists and volunteers at UCLA who hoped they would become an institute renowned for research, education and patient care.

The two organizations have joined forces and now work together to spread the word.

“Since partnering with the UCLA Comprehensive Cancer Center, they have provided us with amazing opportunities … but, most importantly, they have been supporting us and helping us spread awareness from the minute we started,” Nathanson said of the partnership.

In December 2015, Cakes for Cancer hosted its first bake sale at the Pacific Palisades Farmers Market.

“We ended up selling out of cakes and made $600,” Nathanson said. “I am so thankful for those in my community because in the few months that Cakes for Cancer has started, we have received so much support and love by everyone in the Palisades.”

In February of this year, Garland and Nathanson hosted a bake school at Marymount where they raised close to $500.

“In the 10 months since we began Cakes for Cancer, we have raised over $10,000, and every dime donated goes straight to the UCLA Comprehensive Cancer Center with the hope of finding a cure,” Nathanson explained.

Nathanson’s grandmother, Ilene, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in April.

“Now, as my grandmother’s fight begins, the mission of Cakes for Cancer becomes even more clear,” Nathanson shared. “There are thousands and thousands of people fighting out there, and we are here to fight with them—one cake at a time.”

Over time, Nathanson and Garland hope to turn Cakes for Cancer into a support group from patients and those who have loved ones fighting cancer to come together.

“We hope that Cakes for Cancer will be a place where those fighting with this terrible disease can come together, whether they be patients or loved ones,” she said. “For everyone who is fighting, just know that you’re not alone.”

To find out more about Cakes for Cancer or to make a donation, visit cakesforcancer.org.