But she always smiled — a volleyball killer with kindness, you might say. She always encouraged those around her too, and lended her support to teammates, friends, community members and anyone, really, whenever she could.

And now she needs the community to return the favor.

A 2005 WCHS graduate who was a top-75 national volleyball recruit — a talent and distinction that landed her a scholarship to Wichita State University — Katie was recently diagnosed with Stage 3B Hodgkin Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system that is diagnosed in approximately 9,000 United States residents each year.

It’s an aggressive disease and far less common than Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, which is diagnosed roughly 80,000 times each year in the U.S. Katie’s cancer is quite advanced too, which makes her fight all the more difficult.

Ryan and Katie Bradley celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary last week. Katie, a 2005 WCHS graduate, is currently undergoing treatment for Stage 3B Hodgkin Lymphoma. Photo courtesy of LiveLaugh Photography

But to know Katie is to understand that it’s a fight she intends to win through the power of positivity and prayer.

“The support we have already received has been amazing,” Katie, who now lives in Mesa, Arizona, with her husband, Ryan, and their two young daughters, Ella, 5, and Paisley, 1, said. “When anybody comes to us and asks what they can do we always tell them food and prayer, prayer and food. We have to eat every day and we’ll take all of the prayers we can get.”

A Webster City Girl

Katie’s warm, energetic voice lights up even more when she talks about her hometown. The daughter of WCHS art teachers Dave and Deb Niggemeyer, Katie takes pride in where she comes from, and she says her hometown returned that love almost immediately after she went public with her diagnosis on Facebook earlier this spring.

“I’ve always been so proud to be from Webster City,” she said. “I love the character that was instilled in us and I feel like we were all raised to be compassionate.

Photo courtesy of LiveLaugh Photography

“Webster City has been phenomenal. The volleyball team sent me a Lynx package and they all decorated volleyballs, and then a lot of other people have reached out too.”

Katie also boasts quite proudly about her Class of 2005 — one that was littered with standout athletes. In additional to her volleyball prowess, Katie was a multiple-time state qualifier in track and field, and earned letters in basketball and softball. But it was her heart that always resonated with her classmates.

“Katie is such a special person,” Brock Jacobson, another all-state athlete and 2005 WCHS graduate, said. “She’ll do anything to help people and she has such a big heart. Her personality, her selflessness … she has that glow as an individual.”

The adoration that former classmates have for Katie prompted them to band together to create the Spike Cancer: Katie Bradley Benefit, a virtual raffle that is already taking place where all proceeds will go to the Bradley family for its fight against cancer.

A hog was anonymously donated for the benefit and Stanhope Locker & Market has offered to process the hog. On July 1, a raffle will be held for two halves of the hog.

Photo courtesy of LiveLaugh Photography

Tickets cost $10 each, and can also be purchased in bulk — five for $40 and 13 for $100.

The Class of 2005 has set up a Facebook group — Spike Cancer: Katie Bradley’s Benefit — with information on the event and how to purchase tickets.

“We’re going to try to get the word out on social media any way we can,” Jacobson said. “This shouldn’t happen to anybody, let alone somebody who is 32 years old, but we’re going to do everything we can to support her.”

To say Katie is touched by the gesture would be an understatement. But knowing her classmates like she does, Katie’s not surprised by the generosity.

“The Class of 2005 was a really special class,” she said.

The Fight of Her Life

Saturday, March 21 — it was a typical Arizona weekend, Katie says, or as typical as it could be during a national pandemic. She had been outside working in her yard and went to the bathroom to wash her hands when she noticed a strange growth on her neck. With a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Monday, Katie says she shrugged it off in the moment, but a few days later it became serious.

“The doctor called it right away,” she said. “As we were leaving, he gave me a list of oncologists … I had heard of lymphoma before, but I didn’t know what it was. But I did know what an oncologist is.”

Katie’s family has dealt with more — much, more much, actually — than its fair share of cancer over the years. Her father, Dave, passed away in March of 2019 following a three-year fight against colon cancer and her mom, Deb, is currently fighting chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In all, Katie says she’s the 13th member of her family to take on the disease.

“My family doesn’t mess around with cancer, we just go for the bad stuff,” Katie joked.

Katie initially met with an oncologist on March 31, and on April 15 she underwent a biopsy to remove the mass from her neck. Two days later the devastating news was confirmed — Hodgkin Lymphoma, an aggressive form of cancer, but one that is treatable if caught early enough. Two days later she underwent a PET scan, and on April 20 she learned she was Stage 3B.

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system that helps fight infections and diseases in the body. When individuals get sick, they may notice an enlarged lymph node, typically the size of a pea. Katie says her lymph nodes are the size of grapes.

“My cancer is all concentrated on the upper left side of my chest,” she said. “It goes from the base of my neck to my collar bone and the whole upper part of my left chest and then down to my heart … every lymph node is affected. The reason I’m Stage 3 is because that happens when cancer goes south of the diaphragm.”

Katie began chemotherapy treatments on May 1 — eight sessions that last four hours each and occur once every two weeks. After four sessions she’ll undergo a CT scan to judge the effectiveness of the treatment, and again after all eight treatments to map out a future treatment. She may need more chemotherapy. She may need radiation.

“So far, chemo has been going fine,” Katie said. “My side effects have been really mild, but I’ve been told by family members that it takes you down over time, so we’ll just have to see.”

What galvanizes her is the support she has received. Katie likes to refer to herself as an “open book,” which is why she went public with her diagnosis. It’s also why, after a long pause, she admitted she also suffered a miscarriage in mid-April as she was dealing with her new health reality.

But that openness has been a saving grace of sorts simply due to the overwhelming love and support she has received from her family and friends, as well as some people she hasn’t been in contact with for years.

“We have such an amazing support system,” she said. “We truly believe in the power of prayer and we totally feel it. We’re getting hit with prayer hard from all over the country. Two of Ryan’s friends are pastors in California and they did a big prayer for me and our family at their churches.”

Katie, who teaches art and is a yearbook advisor at Leading Edge Academy in Mesa, says her colleagues have also stepped up. Two of her friends come to her house once a week to clean, a simple gesture that Katie says has helped her family tremendously.

“People want to help and they want to know how they can help,” Katie, who turns 33 on Wednesday, said. “That’s why Ryan and I decided that we were going to be super transparent throughout this whole thing.”

Katie doesn’t know how her journey will evolve or when it will end, but she says the support has helped to keep her spirits high. She says she’s been told that Hodgkin Lymphoma patients have a five-year survival rate of 90 percent, although she’s been reading that the rate is around 85 percent.

But whatever happens, Katie knows that she’s loved — by her family, by her friends, by her former community, and by people she doesn’t even know.

In some ways, she’s already won.

Mailing Information

If you would like to contact Katie Bradley or donate to her fight against cancer, she can be reached at:

Katie Bradley

9510 East Jacob Circle

Mesa, AZ 85209

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

• Daily Newsletter
• Breaking News
• Obituaries

Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

• Yes
• No