All posts tagged: Awareness

Global Call to Action: International Childhood Cancer Day Follow Up

From our Friends at Childhood Cancer International: Every February 15th since 1993 people around the world have celebrated International Childhood Cancer Day, created and organized by Childhood Cancer International (CCI) and supported by SIOP. Every  three years there is a new campaign theme, and the theme for 2024 to 2026 focuses on the challenges and inequalities faced by children and adolescents with cancer, as well as their families.  The theme also seeks to highlight solutions. Our friends at CCI encourage everyone to participate in this important campaign! Why? The more voices that gather, the stronger the call and the greater […]

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A Tribute to Pediatric Cancer Caregivers: Honoring Heroes

At the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), we extend our deepest gratitude to our community’s current and former caregivers. They embody compassion, resilience, and unwavering support for children, adolescents, young adults, and their families confronting a cancer diagnosis or the many complications that arise in survivorship. Caring for a child with cancer is a profound journey marked by a mix of emotions, challenges, and unyielding love. In the shadows of this harrowing ordeal stand the caregivers, often unsung heroes, beside young patients. On this National Caregivers Day, we acknowledge their pivotal roles and the extraordinary commitment they bring to the […]

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Compassionate Counseling Services are Available for Families Dealing with Pediatric Cancer

A pediatric cancer diagnosis can shatter the world of any family, plunging them into a challenging and emotionally tumultuous journey. Amidst the physical and medical aspects of treatment for the diagnosed child, the psychological toll on the families should not be underestimated. Recognizing the importance of mental health support becomes paramount to helping families cope, heal, and find hope in the face of childhood cancer. The Emotional Impact: Pediatric cancer not only affects the child diagnosed, it reverberates throughout the entire family and primary caregivers. Parents and grandparents often grapple with a rollercoaster of emotions—fear, anxiety, guilt, and helplessness. Siblings […]

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Survivorship Matters Blog: Pedmark – Improving Quality of Life for Childhood Cancer Survivors Preventing Chemo-Induced Hearing Loss

Survivorship Matters Blog By CAC2 Individual Member Mary Beth Collins “Your child has to be alive to experience side effects” It is heard by every parent of a child with a high-risk pediatric cancer when reviewing treatment protocol: your child must endure and survive all of the therapies first, before a parent can afford to be concerned about side effects.  It’s a pragmatic priority; the focus is on keeping your child alive and achieving No Evidence of Disease, or ”NED” as commonly referenced.  With the most challenging cancers, it is spoken with earnest and delicate honesty. Today, according to the […]

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Survivorship Matters Blog: Recapturing the Dream

Survivorship Matters Blog By CAC2 Member Mary Beth Collins, PREP4Gold During his teens, my neuroblastoma survivor Joshua was struggling in every way a person could struggle. Puberty had brought on new long term side effects, and reinvigorated old ones that we thought were behind us. His chemo-induced hearing loss progressed from moderate-to-severe to profound, and his hearing aides became a trigger for his migraines. The combinations of cognitive impact, cluster migraines, and chemo-induced ADHD made education almost impossible. He was doing the best he could on home/hospital care with a teacher who visited the house a few times a week. […]

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CAC2 Member Blog–Taking Childhood Cancer Advocacy on the Road: Childhood Cancer License Plates

By CAC2 Member Mary Beth Collins, PREP4Gold For the entire month of September the world hears a great deal from the childhood cancer community, feverishly raising awareness, advocating for programs & funding, and sharing stories about treatment, survivorship, and bereavement. Social media posts are in abundance, medical experts and advocates are interviewed, and researchers publish papers with the latest data. Each day of the month, there is a great deal provided about childhood cancer as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM) continues to strengthen in message and resolve. Come October 1st, some wonder what can be done to sustain some of [...] Read more

CureFest for Childhood Cancer

CureFest 2021 will take place in a hybrid format this September. There will be an in-person event in Washington, DC as well as an interactive virtual format that will allow families from across the world to hold One Voice Walks and other activities in their own communities. ​2020’s virtual-only format allowed us to reach many families that would otherwise be unable to attend CureFest in person. Based on this success, we made the decision to offer a virtual experience in 2021 even though we will have an in-person presence this year in our Nation’s Capital. CureFest for Childhood Cancer will […]

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CAC2 Member Blog–An Estimate of the Long-Term Outcomes for Children with Cancer

By CAC2 Member Bob Piniewski, People Against Childhood Cancer Childhood cancer statistics, like all statistics (1), can be confusing.   Any statistic can be used to hide or distort the truth, and even the statistics we trust may only tell part of the story. This essay analyzes some familiar childhood cancer statistics and attempts to draw them together in a holistic way to estimate the projected lifelong outcomes for a child diagnosed with childhood cancer in the United States today.  By lifelong outcomes, we mean what may happen over that child’s entire life--not just today or in five years, but 10, [...] Read more

CAC2 Webinar–An Ounce of Prevention, A Lifetime of Health: Childhood Cancer Prevention Initiative

Dr. Margaret Kripke, Professor of Immunology and Vivian L. Smith Chair Emerita at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Dr. Philip Landrigan, Professor of Biology at Boston College and Director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good joined CAC2 Members Jonathan Agin (Max Cure Foundation), Mary Beth Collins, and Anne Robertson to discuss a soon-to-be unveiled childhood cancer prevention initiative. This informative webinar allowed CAC2 members to learn the basics about preventing childhood cancer and the vulnerabilities to environmental toxins and current treatment regimens experienced by children. The panel discussion provided an overview about [...] Read more

Childhood Cancer and Prevention – The Time is Now

Survivorship Matters Blog By CAC2 Member Mary Beth Collins My introduction to the idea of prevention and childhood cancer didn’t come from a yearning for advocacy and systems change. It also didn’t come years after my son was diagnosed, with a desire to help other parents learn how to nurture healthier environments for their children. It was thrust upon me during my son’s neuroblastoma treatment, by prospective buyers of our house. Somehow, they not only found out that my son was in cancer treatment, but they also found out the type of cancer he had. The couple had researched environmental toxins [...] Read more