Each year more than 17,000 children are diagnosed with childhood cancer in the United States — more than a classroom full of children a day. Each of these kids face uncertain and scary treatments in the midst of their regular lives of playing with friends, attending school and just trying to be a kid.
At Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, we call these kids our heroes because of the battles they face and the ways they inspire us to work hard to find cures. Meet four of our childhood cancer heroes:
Lauren O’Malley was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Treatment was never straight forward; Lauren has had surgery, enrolled in clinical trials and tried experimental treatments. Her dad, Patrick, has been at her side the entire time.
He’s sat with her through chemotherapy, waited with her as she recovered from surgery and just been there when she’d been at her limit with treatments and side effects. He’s also taught her to give back through her own heartache.
“Dad taught me how to take my pain and use it for the greater good,” said Lauren.
Lauren shared a special tribute to her dad in the ALSF Childhood Cancer Blog.
A childhood cancer diagnosis is often sudden and overwhelming. It is a difficult time for families to navigate that brings stress about treatment, new expenses and changes to day-to-day life. To help families feel less alone in their fight, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) established family service programs as part of our mission to support childhood cancer families wherever possible. These programs get families to clinical trials far from home, encourage, empower, and comfort siblings of kids with cancer, and provide the tools they need to navigate their child’s cancer experience with knowledge and confidence. Here are three places families facing cancer can find support:
If you ask Cole Fitzgerald what it is like to face childhood cancer for a second time — fifteen years after his first rare cancer diagnosis, Cole will say in his Jersey accent:
“It is what it is.”
And what it is this second time around is pancreatoblastoma, a type of cancer that has only ever been documented 50 times and just once following a neuroblastoma diagnosis. That one case—that’s Cole Fitzgerald.
The odds of this double diagnosis are infinitesimal—but Cole has never had the odds on his side.
This July, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) is spotlighting a few special heroes in honor of Sarcoma Awareness Month. Sarcomas arise in the bone or soft tissue, but the treatment methods for these types of cancer are often outdated, causing their cure rates to lag behind many others. Still, kids like Gabby, Malina and Krystabelle keep fighting. Meet some of the inspiring heroes who make this month matter:
My son, Tony, is 18 years old. He is a survivor of cancer — three times over. He was first diagnosed 15 years ago with neuroblastoma; then later lymphoma and skin cancer. Both these secondary cancers were a result of his initial cancer treatment and complicated, seemingly never-ending, side effects. My daughter, Samantha, is 16 years old. She’s been through it all, with us and all too often, without us, as we spent days and nights for months at a time at the hospital. I love my son and daughter. Fatherhood for me boils down to all things that I did not expect to happen; but that did happen, anyway.
Kids come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their cancers. There are dozens of pediatric cancers, but leukemia account for nearly 28% of all childhood cancer diagnoses.
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells – which are crucial to fighting off infections – and one of the most prevalent forms is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Here are four heroes who would agree that all kids are worth fighting for:
Ethan’s parents were concerned. In March 2018, Ethan was suddenly unsteady on his feet. Lying on his side made him dizzy, and he started sleeping more than normal. He saw multiple specialists, but none could tell what was wrong. Daily vomiting turned into hourly vomiting, until finally an MRI revealed a brain tumor. The shock that Ethan’s family felt was indescribable. That same week, Ethan was scheduled for surgery. Pathology revealed the tumor was anaplastic ependymoma.
July is more than sweltering summer days and backyard barbeques; to many, it’s a month that honors those battling sarcomas – a disease that represents 15% of childhood cancer diagnoses. While the five-year survival rate for all types of childhood cancer is 86%, the average for the three most common sarcomas ranges from 65-75%. These cure rates lag behind many other kinds of pediatric cancers.
This month, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is shining a spotlight on four extraordinary childhood cancer heroes who has been impacted by sarcoma:
Throughout June, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) is sharing childhood cancer stories to honor National Cancer Survivor Month. Thanks to research advancements made possible by our generous donors, the five-year survival rate for a pediatric cancer diagnosis has risen to 84%. While there is still work to do to find cures for all kids, here are a few inspiring survivor stories that remind us to hold onto hope:
Collin was a social butterfly who loved to have fun. He was diagnosed twice with ALL, and after 12 wonderful years cancer-free, he was diagnosed with mucoepidermoid carcinoma and began fighting all over again. Sadly he passed away, but was an inspiration.
