Story by Joanna Brathwaite, Photos by Dan Raustadt
Imagine waking up every morning to the love of your life gone, and no one in the world that seems to understand your pain. Then imagine finding love again in the most unexpected place and uniting to create something more powerful than you ever dreamed possible.
In March 2002, Molly Stockley moved to Arizona and began working for KTVK Channel 3. One of the first people to welcome her to the Valley was a woman named Kristina (Kristi). The women soon became close colleagues, and Molly even attended her wedding to Bob Stockley in 2004. While Molly went through a strenuous separation from her husband of six years, Kristi was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma. Bob was devastated, and in the year that followed he and Kristi did everything they could do to fight the disease. However, in February 2006, Kristi lost her battle with cancer, at the age of 28.
Molly and Bob began to lean on each other for emotional support. Soon friendship evolved into something more and after about a year of dating, they married in September 2008—but their story was just beginning.
A deepening desire to participate in cancer awareness grew in Molly’s heart. In a stroke of fate, Molly was asked to cover an event at the Surprise Tennis Complex, announcing the new Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) Tennis Championship. She was overwhelmed by CTCA’s message. In that moment, Molly had a new career path and a mission to help as many patients partner with CTCA for the fight of their life as she could. Today, Molly is the vice president of Hospital Growth at Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Western Regional Medical Center. She serves as vice presidentof the Assistance In Healthcare, Inc. (AIH), which provides monetary aid for families dealing with cancer to help them with non-medical-related expenses. “When we encountered anyone with cancer, we would see Kristi’s face. We knew that with our skills, our relationships and our background, we could help change people’s lives,” Molly says.
When Kristi was diagnosed, she expressed her wishes to spread the message of melanoma awareness. She planned to start a skin cancer foundation once she was better. It was Bob’s promise to start a foundationto educate the public on skin cancer awareness. He reached out to everyone who worked with Kristi at KTVK to start the foundation. Bob and Molly have always been passionate philanthropists but became especially active in fundraising for cancer patients after they founded Kristi Cares, The Kristina A. Stockley Melanoma Foundation. Kristi Cares’ mission is to educate the Valley on proper sun safety. Through a partnership with CTCA and the Super Bowl Host Committee, sunscreen dispensers will be available throughout Phoenix during the festivities this February. There will also be a fundraiser for AIH called the Super Ball gala (see sidebar) that will be held this month at the Bentley Projects in Downtown Phoenix.
“We live each day with the responsibility to keep Kristi’s spirit active in a way that she can be proud of. Our dedication comes with the hope of preventing a parent, spouse or child from the devastation that we know,” Bob says. It only takes one person to make a difference. And in Bob and Molly’s case, two people have not only made a difference, but have created a movement in changing the lives of the people around them.
