The Childhood Cancer Blog

The Childhood Cancer Blog

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

  • sylvia
    Sylvia was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, when she was 6 years old.
  • frankie
    Frankie recently received his orange belt. He continues in treatment for pilomyxoid astrocytoma.
  • ryan
    Ryan, diagnosed at 22 months with ependymoma, is now 11 years old.
  • austin's family
    Austin was 15 years old when he lost his life to DIPG.

Frankie was just 6 years old when his parents rushed him to the emergency room. Within hours, Frankie was diagnosed with a brain tumor called pilomyxoid astrocytoma.  

Pediatric brain tumors account for about a quarter of all childhood cancer diagnoses. Each brain tumor diagnosis is different — there are hundreds of types and subtypes, each requiring a different treatment and with a different prognosis. For kids like Frankie, the day of diagnosis changes everything. Regular days at school turn into days at the clinic. Family vacations are postponed because of hospital stays and... Read More

  • Lakelynn is 6 years old and battling a rare sarcoma.
  • Lakelynn is home and isolated from friends and classmates. “The risk for her, with her little body fighting hard, was too great,” said Leslie.
  • Before the pandemic, Lakelynn hosted lemonade stands to benefit ALSF.

Before COVID-19, coronavirus and pandemic were commonplace words, we shared with you the story of Lakelynn. Lakelynn is 6 years old, a kindergartener in North Carolina and lives everyday with an inoperable sarcoma wrapped around the nerves that control her right arm. 

When Lakelynn was first diagnosed at 3 years old, doctors offered her family very little hope. The tumor was inoperable and radiation was too dangerous because of the tumor location. While doctors worked to reduce Lakelynn’s intense pain, her family began searching... Read More

  • Julia, who is now 5 years old, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma as a baby.
    Julia, who is now 5 years old, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma as a baby.
  • ”Their support helped keep our family going,” said Jessica Malicki. ALSF has helped nearly 700 families in the midst of childhood cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    ”Their support helped keep our family going,” said Jessica Malicki. ALSF has helped nearly 700 families in the midst of childhood cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2020, as New York City began to shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malicki family from Wisconsin began to plan their trip East, to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), located right in epicenter of the outbreak.  

It is a trip they’ve made at least 60 times in the past four years for their daughter Julia. Julia, who is now 5 years old, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a type of childhood eye cancer, when she was a baby. The cutting-edge treatment, a form of surgical chemotherapy, was not available at her home hospital. New York City was the best... Read More

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