WYNNEWOOD, Pa. -- A young champion for sick children has lost her battle with cancer.
Alexandra Scott, founder of "Alex's Lemonade Stand," died peacefully Sunday at her family's home in Wynnewood, Pa., just outside Philadelphia.
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Alex (pictured, right) had neuroblastoma, one of the most aggressive childhood cancers. She was diagnosed when she was 1, and lived to be 8 years old.
In her short life, Alex fought more than her own illness. She also fought to help doctors find a cure that might save other sick children by selling lemonade to raise money for pediatric cancer research.
Through her own lemonade stand, and thousands of others run in her name, Alex collected more than $700,000 this year and presented the money to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to help find a cure for kids with cancer.
"What she has done and what she's accomplished in her life still amazes me and I'm proud," Liz Scott, Alex's mother, told WCAU-TV in Philadelphia on Monday.
During a previous visit with the TV station, Alex talked about her dreams.
"I like to pretend I'm a movie star. I wear dress-up clothes and I pretend to be a princess," Alex said.
However, Princess Alex was always going through chemotherapy and radiation. She was in excruciating pain from radiation just before appearing on NBC's "Today" show this year.
"An hour before we went on the 'Today' show, we said, 'We don't need to go on,'" remembered Jay Scott, Alex's father. "But she said, 'You know I need to do this. It will help the cause and help other kids.' So she saw the big picture."
Alex waged an exhaustive fight, but ultimately, cancer got the upper hand.
"For the last few months, I just hoped it would be peaceful. I thought she deserved that," Liz said.
Alex did die peacefully at 4 p.m. Sunday. She felt no pain, her parents said.
"(She died) in her favorite spot. She was on her couch, and she looked out the window. That was the first time she opened her eyes all day. Then she went to sleep. Liz and I were holding her hands," Jay said. "She was a girl who wanted all the same things other girls want, but she couldn't have it. So she made the best of what she could have, and then some."
The Scotts said they plan to keep Alex's lemonade stand going in her memory. Alex hoped that her charity would raise $1 million this year for cancer research. Volvo of North America has pledged to hold a fall fund-raising event to assure the goal will be reached.
If you would like to donate to Alex's fund to benefit pediatric cancer research, you can send it to:
Alex's Lemonade Stand
333 Lancaster Ave. #414
Wynnewood, PA 19096
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