Pennsylvania

Maya's Story: Girl Battling Cancer for Second Time Raises $100K for Other Children

Maya Rigler, the 10-year-old girl from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania battling cancer for the second time, reached her fundraising goal.

Donations in a fundraiser created by Maya and Alex's Lemonade Stand hit the $100,000 mark Monday.

"It was really cool," Maya told NBC10. "I was like, in the hospital bed, then I was just like, 'Wow, $100,000!'"

Maya has an orange-sized tumor on her pancreas formed by a rare type of cancer called atypical Ewing's sarcoma. Doctors must shrink the tumor before they can remove it. The girl already fought and won a fight against a Wilms tumor on her kidney when she was 2-years-old.

Despite her own health scare, Maya is working to help other kids like her by raising money for pediatric cancer research.

"She said that maybe the reason that she got through this is so she could help other kids," said Maya's father Peter Rigler. "It was a pretty powerful thing to say."

NBC10 told Maya's story last month and less than 24 hours later, donations to her virtual fundraising stand jumped by more than $10,000.

Donations listed on the website ranged in amounts -- $3 from one man, $500 from a rabbi.

Her initial fundraising goal was $100,000. As of Wednesday night, she has raised $105,078.

"She's a pretty determined little girl so I'm not so surprised," said Maya'a mother Stacy Rigler.

On Wednesday Maya and her parents, who are both local rabbis, met with Jay and Liz Scott, the heads of Alex's Lemonade Stand. The foundation is named after the couple's daughter Alex, who died in 2004 after raising more than $1 million for cancer research.

"The world is a different place today for kids with cancer than it was when Alex was around," Jay Scott said. "I think because of people like Maya it's gonna be a different place in a couple of years than it even is today."

Liz Scott told NBC10 Maya reminds her of her daughter.

"The fact that she was going through something but she wanted to do something to help other kids and it was just so generous," she said.

Maya's family also learned that her tumor is responding to chemotherapy.

Even though she reached the $100,000 mark, Maya has no plans of slowing down. She has now set a new fundraising goal: $250,000.

CLICK HERE to donate.

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