Cancer survivor sparks joy for children battling illnesses

San Leandro, CA - Kyle Amsler’s positivity and enthusiasm is the perfect fit for her job at George Mark Children’s House, where she works to brighten the days of children who are facing difficult healthcare experiences.

"I love coming to work every single day," she said. "I love pulling up to the gates and just seeing the house, and all the flowers and trees, knowing I have the privilege of helping our patients have the best day possible."

George Mark Children’s House, based in San Leandro, is a pediatric palliative care center for children with chronic illnesses. She works as a Child Life Coordinator, helping patients meet their psychosocial and developmental needs through various therapeutic programs, including pet therapy, art therapy, music therapy, and horticultural therapy.

"The focus of my job is to bring joy and to enhance the quality of life for our patients and their whole family," Amsler said. "For some kids, they're meeting a dog or an animal for the first time. Some of our patients and families live in apartment complexes and don't have access to the outdoors. So, when a child is able to be here on the five acres of land, it's just so healing, and you can just see when they get into the sun that they're relaxed and smiling."

Art, music, and pet therapy are particularly helpful for children who are non-speaking.

"They are so full of life and so able to communicate with their eyes or their communication devices," she said. "I love just spending time with the kids and seeing the smiles on their faces and seeing their joy and spirits radiate."

She also works to help children understand their illness or injury, and in some cases, talks to them about death and dying. This includes talking to the patient’s family about the topic. She leads the center’s siblings support groups and works directly with respite siblings and bereaved siblings.

"I don’t think there's anything more tragic than a child who is sick or dying," she said. "As a mom, you can put yourself in the shoes of the parents that you’re working with." 

Her Career Path

The backstory:

Amsler, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science, thought she would choose a career path in international development. After college, she joined the Peace Corps, and spent time volunteering with children in rural elementary schools in Guatemala. 

Amsler said she was living with a host family who lost a relative in a car accident. She said the host family’s children were involved in every aspect of the relative’s death, including washing their body and being a part of the funeral procession.

"It was so different from my experience growing up," Amsler said. "When I was seven, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she died when I was 16. There was nobody there to talk with me about her illness or about death and dying."

After the Peace Corps, she changed her career path. She went back to school and earned a Master’s degree in Developmental Psychology with a specialization in children with special healthcare needs and child life. 

She worked in a pediatric intensive care unit in Philadelphia, before she returned home to the Bay Area to work at George Mark.

"I wanted to become what I didn’t have as a child, so it’s really rewarding," she added.

The George Mark model

What we know:

George Mark Children’s House is the first pediatric palliative care home in the United States, based in San Leandro. It allows families to be together and live on-site, instead of being in a hospital room. There is round-the-clock nursing and medical care provided, along with psychosocial support, and bereavement care for families after a child dies. 

"I saw their model where the entire family can come live here, and the siblings get support, the parents get support," Amsler said. "Then we have that ongoing bereavement care after a child dies for families. It was just so different from what I experienced in the hospital."

George Mark relies heavily on community donations and grants to provide care for its patients and their families. The non-profit recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and is currently working on renovations to expand its aquatic spa for patients, which is set to open in April 2025.

"Our families never see a bill," she said. "We don’t charge for any of our services. We really rely on the generosity of the community to fund our work."

Amsler said the next goal is to install an all-abilities playground on the property, and they are working on meeting their fundraising goal of $1 million to meet the costs of installing the playground.

Cancer Diagnosis

Timeline:

Amsler recalled feeling a pain in her breast and immediately set up a doctor's appointment for a mammogram. Given her family history, she knew she needed to be checked. After a biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in May 2024.

"My mom was diagnosed in her mid to late 40’s, so it was still a big shock to be diagnosed at age 35… I was not expecting that," she said.

Amsler’s daughter was one and a half at the time, and Amsler continued to work full time at George Mark through six months of chemotherapy treatment.

"It became a question when I was going through chemo and treatment, whether I was going to be able to continue working and how it was going to be a mom… so it was really hard," she said. 

Amsler kept working through chemo. She lost all her hair. She went to work in a wig and later had a double mastectomy.

Amsler believes work was helpful for her. She said being around patients and seeing their struggles motivated and inspired her to keep going and face her own battles. She is now cancer-free and has maintained her positive attitude every step of the way.

"I think with what I went through as a child with my mom's death, it's always made me appreciate life and want to live life to the fullest," Amsler said. "And part of my mission in life is to serve others. It's so fulfilling to do this work and to be able to help kid's dreams come true and just help them have fun, special moments with their families."

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