I spent a lot of time with Kylie and her mother Nicole during my first few months at the Beacon-News as we worked on a story about Kylie battling a rare form of cancer in her brain and spinal cord.
An update just over a year ago now showed she was doing great in her recovery, but unfortunately they could not remove everything and the tumor grew back.
This weekend, after 2 years and 6 months of battling, Kylie finally gave in.
My heart and thoughts go out to her parents Nicole and Dustin. They had a truly amazing daughter that made a lasting impact on not only myself but everyone around her.
Please send your thoughts and prayers to her family as they go through this difficult time.
Steve Buyansky is the photo editor for the Sun-Times Media West Group which includes The Beacon-News, The Courier-News and the Naperville Sun. He started as a photographer for the Beacon-News in 1983, became photo editor for The Herald-News in Joliet in 2000 and moved to the Sun-Times Media West office in 2009. He has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Columbia College in Chicago.
A native of the western suburbs, Brian Powers attended both the College of
DuPage and Western Kentucky University for Photography and is continuing his
education at the University of The Aurora Beacon News. His professors
continue to push him (See Marianne Mather), but he considers himself one of
the lucky few who loves going to work everyday....well, ok, most days.
Michael Smart has been a photographer at The Courier-News/Sun-Times Media for over ten years. Smart grew up in Elgin before heading West to pursue adventures in photography and zoology, earning a bachelor’s degree in both fields. Upon returning to Elgin, he decided to pursue his true passion of photojournalism.
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