In October, Hayley Kudro was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer that attacks the nervous system. The treatment and its physical side effects have forced Hayley to grow up fast but Hayley has an iron will on her side.

She was a laughing and dancing girl with a dimpled smile who felt the joy of loving life. However, take one good look at Hayley and you'll understand the resilience of a child.

Five-year-old Hayley lost her long, blond hair when she started her first round of chemo in October 2009.

"My hair didn't go away. We trimmed it all off," says Hayley. "It kept falling out. I wanted to tape it back to my head."

Hayley has been through five rounds of chemo, each with its own physical side effect.

"We read her a story about how when something like this would happen, maybe she would lose her hair and she didn't really care," says Hayley's father, Eric Kudro.

Even though she's fighting an aggressive form of cancer, her innocence leaves her naive to the suffering and sadness of it. Her parents, Karen and Eric, carry the weight of knowing what Hayley's up against.

"It's not the same as telling an adult that they have cancer," says Karen. "She doesn't understand what could happen. She's not old enough to understand that but she's old enough to understand what needs to be done to take care of it."

Drawing her own blood and balancing treatments at UVA's children's hospital, Hayley still sees the world through five-year-old eyes.

Hayley had surgery on her tumor at Philadelphia Children's Hopsital Thursday. Her grandmother says doctors were able to remove half the tumor and Hayley is resting comfortably.

Karen says Hayley may now need radiation on the tumor.

Once Hayley is NED (no evidence of disease), she will receive a transplant of her own bone marrow, grown from her harvested stem cells.

The community has organized a series of benefits to help Hayley's family with the cost of treatment and travel.

The next concert, called "Harmony for Hayley," is March 14. It's at Stage 4 Theater in Verona from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Reserved seats are $15 and general admission seats are $10. Call 540-248-1868 for information.