A comedy fundraiser benefiting Emma Hartkorn will be held Oct. 18 at the Bishop Murphy Knights of Columbus, in Warren.

Photo provided by Alyssa Slanec

METRO DETROIT — Alyssa Slanec describes her daughter as a ball of joy.

She also said her daughter has met her cancer diagnosis with strength.

“She’s been through more than most adults, and she has handled it better than most adults,” she said.

Slanec’s daughter, 3-year-old Emma Hartkorn, was diagnosed with stage three renal cancer in December 2024. She had a tumor, and the cancer had taken over most of her abdomen, her entire left kidney and had migrated into her inferior vena cava, a vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower body to the heart.

It was centimeters away from her heart, Slanec said.

After Emma had surgery to re

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