The Michels Family's Why: Sophie's Journey and a Commitment to Future Patients

Diagnosed with a rare cancer at age 11, Sophie Michels Deane and her family have spent the past 14 years pursuing the most innovative treatments and expert care.

Now, the Michels family is helping ensure that more patients and families impacted by cancer can access cutting-edge close to home.

Sophie is the reason why.

The Michels family's transformative $27 million gift to the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), announced this summer, empowers MCW to recruit and retain world-class precision oncology talent, accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into life-changing therapies and clinical advancements, train and develop the next generation of cancer experts, and expand access to precision oncology-driven prevention and early detection strategies.

“My family’s gift makes me proud because being on the receiving end of treatment for so long, I know how hard it is,” Sophie says. “Knowing that the support is coming from a family is very special because you know in their hearts there’s something that was really motivating them to support this cause. For the Michels family, I like to think it was me.”

Sophie’s cancer journey began in sixth grade. While her classmates were exploring algebra, competing in sports, and attending school dances, she was undergoing surgery and chemotherapy to treat choroid plexus carcinoma, a rare pediatric brain cancer.

“Sixth grade is a pivotal year socially, and I missed most of it because I was spending time in the hospital,” Sophie says. “From a distance, I was watching my friends continue to form relationships and bonds. To miss out on social life is a terrible thing at that age.”

Drawing on her faith and family as key sources of support, Sophie recovered from treatment and returned to school in time to start seventh grade. But just as life began to feel normal again, Sophie’s cancer returned. She underwent another surgery. For years, a cycle emerged: recurrence, resection, recovery, and another period of waiting.

Today, Sophie is a young adult building a life and a career in New York City. Newly married, she's gone on to live as normal a life as possible while still receiving treatment. Her family taught her how to advocate for herself and others, and she regularly volunteers to support kids and families on their own cancer journeys.

Over the years, Sophie has experienced firsthand how scientific discoveries have advanced cancer care. She has pursued treatment at some of the best medical centers in the US and could go anywhere for care. But she returns to MCW.

“I continue to come back to the Medical College of Wisconsin because I know that the care I’ll receive there is so personal,” Sophie says. “They know my name, they know my history, they know my current treatments, and they know what doesn’t work for me.”’

Today, MCW faculty members Razelle Kurzrock, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and associate director of clinical research for the MCW Cancer Center; and Hui-Zi Chen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine – both of whom practice at the Froedtert Hospital Clinical Cancer Center – lead Sophie’s expert care team.

Sophie's treatments are grounded in precision oncology, an approach that precisely tailors treatment based on each patient’s unique genetics, health history, and lived experience.

“We are really delving into the genomic and immune underpinnings of the cancer and then trying to construct a unique therapy that is matched to that patient’s tumor,” explains Dr. Kurzrock.

Dr. Chen believes MCW is helping lead the way in this new and rapidly evolving field.

“At MCW, we are already beginning to deliver this level of personalized medicine for patients,” she says. “We are setting an example for other centers to be able to implement such an approach.”

Sophie’s family’s gift will fuel MCW’s continued innovation and leadership in precision medicine. To honor the family's generosity, MCW's state-of-the-art research facility will be named the Michels Center for Cancer Discovery.

“We are already a world-class center, but this field is moving quickly,” Dr. Kurzrock explains. “This gift really allows us to go to the next step in innovating new therapies that can be personalized to patients.”

In Sophie’s view, everyone should receive this standard of care. “My hope is that one day, MCW is going to be the place that everybody flocks to,” she says. “When they get diagnosed with cancer, they’re going to say, ‘That’s where I want to go. That’s the place where I will get the best treatment.’”