• June 26, 2006
• Vol. 65
• No. 25

A Very Special Prom

By Bob Meadows

Black Ties, Glitzy Gowns and All the Punch You Can Drink. at a New York City Cancer Hospital, Young Patients Take to the Dance Floor at a Party Just for Them, Leaving Their Troubles Behind for a Few Hours of Magical Fun

Seven-year-old Kimberly Rama is a bundle of energy in her pink dress and brown wig. She twirls and giggles on the dance floor with her two sisters, any thoughts of the chemotherapy she receives five days a week to treat a rare muscle cancer seemingly far away. "To see Kim having such a good time," says her mom, Gail, "it's almost bringing tears to my eyes." Nearby, Yovanna Kolitsopoulos, 17, dressed in red satin, watches the action. She's partway through a two-year treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but this June afternoon at New York City's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center prom for some 200 patients, relatives, doctors and other staff, she's smiling at the younger dancers. "This really cheers kids up," she says. "If they do have to feel sick, maybe they [at least] won't have to feel sick today."

The hospital's annual dance began in the early 1990s as a modest party to boost the spirits of young patients, who now choose their elegant attire from outfits donated to the hospital, some by Manhattan socialites. Pre-prom pampering includes pedicures and manicures and the dance itself has an all-you-can-eat sundae bar. Some of the partygoers have to remain connected to IVs; others are too ill to dance. But they come nonetheless to celebrate life. "You forget everything else for a couple of hours and have fun," says Yovanna's mom, Stacey Koument. "It's a great thing."

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• Contributors:
• Nicole Weisensee Egan/New York City.