Caitlyn Stefanak loves her pink Winnie the Pooh blanket.

Two-year-old Caitlyn was diagnosed earlier this year with neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer. She has spent many days over the past few months at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. And during every stay, she's had that blanket with her.

She can't go anywhere without her blanket, said Mandy Warren, Caitlyn's mother.

Caitlyn's friends and family will come together Saturday, July 11, to raise money to help her in her journey. Funds from the benefit, which is scheduled to take place at Falcon Lanes in Auburn, will aid in medical, travel and other costs incurred by Warren and the family during Caitlyn's battle.

“She's determined,” Warren said last week while Caitlyn slept and underwent her fourth round of chemotherapy since April.

When Warren and her boyfriend, Brian, realized something wasn't right with their daughter, cancer was the furthest thing from their minds. Caitlyn had fallen a couple times, and had been experiencing pain in her leg. She also was sporadically getting a fever.

Warren said she went to a handful of doctors and hospitals; no one knew what was wrong. For a while, doctors thought it was a bone infection. But after dozens of tests, X-rays, some blood work and an MRI, the diagnosis came in.

“I didn't even want to hear it,” Warren said.

Since the diagnosis, Caitlyn has made frequent trips to University Hospital for treatment. The current plan is for six rounds of chemotherapy, radiation treatment, some advanced medicine and surgery to remove the original tumor in her leg. She's well along into her treatment, and she is getting used to the routine, her mother says.

Caitlyn is already learning the names of the nurses on her floor. She likes to push the button on her chemotherapy machine, and she even will help walk her samples to the lab after tests are taken.

Her body seems to be responding so far.

“Everything has been ahead of schedule,” Warren said. “The tumor has shrunk a lot more than has been expected.”

Caitlyn has a lot of friends and family. Warren said ever since the announcement, people have been calling and visiting to ask what they can do to help.

The support is nice, she said, but it can also get overwhelming. That's where the benefit comes in, said Melissa Besner, who is organizing the event.

More than a dozen people have been working to put the event together. There will be raffle prizes, music, auction items and a pasta dinner. There will also be plenty of things for children to do, as Besner said she planned the benefit to make it an event Caitlyn will enjoy.

“If she's healthy enough to be here, I want her to have a great time,” she said.

Besner, a distant cousin of Caitlyn and a friend of the family, said it is nice to help direct the good intentions of all these people to a single cause. So many people have shown support, though she has not been surprised, considering the reason for all of this.

“It's been 64 days since she has been diagnosed, and she has not faltered at all,” Besner said last week. “I think that is the most inspirational thing. She handles this better than a lot of adults do.”

If you go

What: Caitlyn's Cause

When: 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 11

Where: Falcon Lanes, 75 Pulaski St., Auburn

Cost: $10; send donations to Caitlyn's Cause, PO Box 652, Auburn, NY 13021

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net