KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- In one neighborhood game of tag, it's hard to tell which child is sick. A lot of the time Alexandra Schaney can fool you.

But the truth is, this 8-year-old has a rare but stubborn cancer that just won't let go.

Four years ago, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. It went away for a while but now it's back.

"We had 10 rounds of chemotherapy the first time we had cancer, we had radiation," said Kelly Schaney, Alexandra’s mom.

"I just feel really sick after I get it and I lose my hair just a little,” Alexandra said.

“Sometimes a lot,” Schaney said.

Schaney said the financial and emotional toll have been tremendous. Watching her daughter get sick, then better, then sick again has been torture. But she's not giving up.

"She made it through all of that, and we're moving on, right?" Schaney said.

Alexandra nodded in agreement.

The family is moving on to what they believe will be a life-changing event. Saturday morning, Alexandra and her parents will leave for New York for Mass at Yankee Stadium led by Pope Benedict XVI.

“It's an amazing, wonderful thing she's going to experience that she will never forget,” Schaney said.

“I understand it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance and not a lot of people get to do it,” Alexandra said.

Schaney believes just being in the presence of the Holy Father will be powerful. The truth is, she's hoping for a miracle.

Both mother and daughter have thought about what they'd say to Pope Benedict if they got the chance.

“I'd say, ‘Put in a good word for us,’ how about that?” Schaney said.

“Or I'd say, ‘Please pray for me and all my friends,’” Alexandra said.

Her mother doesn't know what will become of Alexandra's journey. But she said it is a reason for hope.

“There are no guarantees in this. I just would like to know that she's been blessed,” Schaney said.