DEBVER — A Denver Broncos superfan is using her team spirit to help child cancer patients heal faster at Children's Hospital Colorado.
Catherine Highland, known as Bronco Babe, is raising $20,000 for a red-light therapy program as part of the Charity Belt Challenge with the Pro Football's Ultimate Fan Association. She is challenging the Houston Texans' ultimate superfan for the belt this year, but the real winners will be young cancer patients.
The Charity Belt Challenge is a competition between superfans from different NFL teams, with proceeds benefiting charitable causes. Highland won the Charity Belt Challenge in 2022 and is now a three-time champion.
Highland became passionate about the cause after meeting Naia, a young cancer patient who is now in remission.
"She got in remission faster and healed faster because of red light therapy, and Children's Hospital here in Denver doesn't have it yet," Highland told Denver7 anchor Jessica Porter.
Red-light therapy helps prevent painful mouth sores that are a common side effect of chemotherapy treatments. These sores can make it difficult for patients to eat or even speak.
"Some of the chemotherapy I got during treatment causes really bad mouth sores, and red light therapy can prevent those," Naia said. "My parents bought me a red light wand because the program at Children's Hospital wasn't up and running yet."
Naia said the red-light therapy helped her heal six weeks earlier than expected.
According to Highland, several families have already raised $80,000 of the $100,000 needed to start the red-light therapy program, but they have exhausted fundraising efforts. Her fundraiser will help them complete their goal.
“It’s going to buy all the equipment that's needed and the supplies needed, which is a lot, and it just gets them started, so the outpatients can go in for their red light therapy when they get these complications from their chemo and radiation,” Highland said.
The deadline to donate is Nov. 1. You can donate to Highland's fundraiser through this link.
