The Childhood Cancer Blog
The Childhood Cancer Blog
Kaitlin, mom to Josie (in remission from Leukemia), Nolan and Noah
Trish, mom to Ryan, brain tumor survivor and senior in high school
Keren, mom to Cole, Maggie and Maeve
Princecine, mom to Ailani, who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 3 years old
Heather, mom to CJ and Gabby
Taylor, Childhood cancer survivor and now, mom to a son and a daughter
Kaitlin had two little boys at home when her youngest child, Josie, was diagnosed with leukemia. Josie was just a baby, and some days felt impossibly long. Kaitlin remembers wondering how she could keep going before realizing that somehow, she already was.
And she wasn’t alone.
“There is a whole community of moms standing beside me, holding me up when it feels too heavy,” she said.
Childhood cancer changes motherhood forever. It reshapes everyday life, deepens fear and love, and creates a bond between mothers who understand what no one else can.
This Mother’... Read More
Margaux was diagnosed with dysgerminoma, a rare ovarian cancer, at age twelve.
Margaux is now 17 years old and a senior in high school
There is a particular kind of loneliness that has nothing to do with being alone.
I was twelve years old when I was diagnosed with dysgerminoma, a rare form of ovarian cancer. It was September 2020 — the height of the pandemic — and no visitors were allowed into my room at Sutter California Pacific Medical Center. No brother, no friends, no other patients. Just four walls and a sixth-floor window overlooking the Geary and Van Ness intersection. I would watch the pedestrians below, moving through their ordinary evenings, and feel the distance between us like a physical weight.... Read More
Rare cancers collectively make up 15% of all pediatric cancer diagnoses. These types of cancer can range from lung cancer (common in adults but rare in kids), thyroid cancer (one of the most common rare tumors that just hasn’t been studied), and other tumors that only affect a small number of kids each year. Many of these rare cancers have never had a research study focused specifically on them.
The lack of research data doesn’t mean progress has stalled. Instead of relying on single institution studies, which often struggle to enroll enough kids, scientists studying rare... Read More
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