Kasyrah Hayward
Kasyrah was born on June 19th to her proud mom, Katie becoming the second youngest child of five Hayward siblings. Kasyrah is a very caring child that loves on her friends and family. She is known for giving the very best hugs. She is thoughtful and creative and loves making things, watching movies and baking.
Kasyrah adores making slime and Mini Verse foods. She loves arts and crafts like painting and making things out of clay. Her favorite foods are all foods(her words) and she’s very adventurous when it comes to trying new things. The best vacation memories are from their family Make-A-Wish trip to Florida. She picked out the Airbnb with a pool, they went to a water park, out to eat so many times and just enjoyed being away from home with her family. Time together is so important to Kasyrah and she loves playing games like Uno, Monopoly, Rrouble and Sorry with brothers and sisters. Kasyrah always enjoyed making TikTok videos before her diagnosis and now she enjoys watching other people’s videos.
Diagnosis
Kasyrah was having really bad headaches to the point that her mom started to think they were migraines since she suffered from them but she also didn’t think an eleven year old would suffer from sudden migraines at that severe of a level. After several days of headaches, she took her into her family doctor who also felt like it could be migraines. But she also began vomiting which raised the level of concern. Her doctor then said she needed to start with and examination from an eye doctor so they ended up at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia neuro ophthalmology unit who said the swelling behind her eyes was so severe and she was beginning to lose vision so they needed her to get an MRI immediately. They returned the following day on December 22, 2025 for a scan and ten minutes into the MIR, the doctor called to tell Katie they saw a mass. Katie described that moment as heart stopping. She was shaken to the core but began the DMG diagnosis alongside her sweet girl. Kasyrah was admitted and underwent a biopsy of her mass. After that she began a thirty day round of radiation and started participation in a clinical trial. That trial has been taxing on this brave girl and she has endured side effects that have resulted in other hospital stays but her family remains steadfast in their hope that she will be the first child to beat this disease. From her mom, Katie, "This has been the hardest thing I ever experienced in my whole life. Her most recent MRI has shown some decrease in the size of the tumor so I’m praying that even though there’s multiple things going on with Kasyrah that this too shall pass!"
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Kasyrah is creative, joyful and courageous, but more than anything she is so deeply loved by her family and community support system. The Archer Foundation is proud to stand alongside her as she fights for more good days.
