House passes Mikaela Naylon Give Kids A Chance Act for cancer care
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A young girl who spent her final years advocating for young people battling cancer has been forever remembered in history thanks to a landmark bill passed by the House of Representatives.
Mikaela Naylon was just 16 when she died, five years after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who helped craft the landmark legislation that bears his name, said Mikaela spent much of her time fighting to give her friends a chance to survive cancer.
He told Fox News Digital that he sees childhood cancer patients as the “best advocates” for their cause, calling them his “better angels.”
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The House of Representatives on Monday remembered Mikaela Naylon, who passed away after a five-year battle with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. (Nylon Family)
“Mikaela was a great example of that,” McCaul said. “He was very sick. He had just had radiation and chemotherapy. He wasn’t feeling very well, and I could understand that. But he still made the effort to come to Washington, go to members’ offices, and advocate for the bill.”
The Mikaela Nylon Giving Kids a Chance Act aims to expand children’s access to existing cancer treatment trials as well as promote the development of treatments and solutions for pediatric cancer.
It reauthorizes funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support pediatric disease research through fiscal year 2027 and expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ability to expedite reviews of drugs intended to help certain pediatric diseases.
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“Probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve done is not only raising awareness about childhood cancer, but also [Childhood Cancer Caucus] and then hold an annual summit only to be able to pass a law that would save children’s lives. I don’t think there’s anything more important than that,” McCaul said.
Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, stepped down from the floor after the House failed to elect a new House Speaker in the first round of voting at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 17, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The bill passed the House unanimously on Monday, with both Republicans and Democrats expressing strong support for the legislation.
Mikaela’s family was there to watch both the passage of the law and the speeches made by MPs in favor of the law.
“Nothing is going to replace it. But it helped fill kind of a void, the void that they have now. And they’re proud that his legacy is being carried on through this legislation,” said McCaul, who also showed the Nylon family around the U.S. Capitol.
Mikaela’s parents, Kassandra and Doug, and her brother, Ayden, told Fox News Digital that Mikaela “met each day with hope, purpose and fierce determination to make the world better for the children who would come after her.”
Photo of the U.S. Capitol at sunset on January 30, 2025. (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)
“He believed that all children, no matter how rarely diagnosed, deserved access to the most promising treatments and a real chance at life. This legislation reflects that mission,” the Naylon family told Fox News Digital.
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Along with McCaul are Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., for championing the bill, as well as the advocacy groups that helped advance it.
“Their dedication ensures that Mikaela’s voice and the voices of so many brave children like her will forever be heard in the halls of Congress,” the family said.
