The Childhood Cancer Blog

The Childhood Cancer Blog

Welcome to The Childhood Cancer Blog
from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation!

malina and dr. samuel

When Beth Cook’s then 8-year-old son Travis was diagnosed with childhood cancer, she did not know what to say. 

The diagnosis came after Travis hit his head really hard and Beth thought he had a concussion. An MRI revealed there was no concussion, but there was cancer in the form of a diffuse and inoperable brain tumor. 

“I did not know what to tell Travis, but I had to tell him,” recalls Beth. “I told him there was something in his head that didn't belong there, but it was going to be ok because he... Read More

As a young trainee, many people gave Dr. Michelle Monje, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) grantee from Stanford University the (unsolicited) advice that one cannot have a big career in medicine or science and also have children.

She ignored the advice. 

Dr. Monje (mother of four) was just awarded a research grant from ALSF. This grant is a $1 million commitment over two years to study CAR T cell immunotherapy for spinal cord diffuse midline gliomas in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Diffuse midline gliomas are inoperable, lethal, high-grade central nervous system tumors... Read More

It is estimated that 400,000 children under the age of 20 are diagnosed with cancer each year.  

However, there are most likely more cases of childhood cancer that go unreported. Not every country has a universal childhood cancer registry or a public health protocol for tracking cases. And in poorer countries, diagnosis and treatment delays not only limit the knowledge of cases, but limit long-term survival for these children.  

In high-income countries, 80% of children diagnosed with cancer are cured and in some low and middle-income countries, only 20% of children survive... Read More

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