Childhood Cancer Knows No Borders
On World Cancer Day, we recognize that childhood cancer knows no borders, and we celebrate that St. Baldrick’s Foundation donors and volunteers are making a difference for kids around the world.
New Pediatric Oncology Training Program Bridges the Gap for Kids in Africa
Dr. Joseph Lubega has big news — he’s bringing specialized pediatric cancer training to his home country of Uganda, thanks to his St. Baldrick’s International Scholar Grant and a partnership between Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. Read on for more about the pioneering program and why it will be a lifesaver for kids with cancer in the region.
EXCITING UPDATE February 15, 2021: It’s been over four years since St. Baldrick’s International Scholar, Dr. Joseph Lubega, and the Global HOPE Program at Texas Children’s Hospital launched the first Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program in East Africa.
The Program, the first of its kind in the region, is making very broad and long-lasting impact: Fourteen pediatric oncologists have already graduated from the two-year program and they lead pediatric cancer care and research at nine different centers in four countries, seeing a total of more than 2500 new children with cancer annually.
The two current classes of ten trainees come from seven countries across Africa: Congo (DRC), Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Another impact of the Program has been the opening of an additional fellowship training program at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania. The second Program opened in November 2020 with 3 fellows and is led by Dr. Lulu Chirande, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and graduate from the original program in Uganda.
“It is very exciting to see that the initial investment by St. Baldrick’s Foundation in global pediatric oncology is producing leaders who are transforming access to quality pediatric cancer care in Africa. This is perhaps the best example of how the commitment of St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s donors can rapidly multiply to impact an enormous number of children and families worldwide,” said Dr. Joseph Lubega.
Dr. Lubega speaks at the launch of the fellowship program in Uganda earlier this month.
Originally posted in 2016: Lack of diagnosis, poor care, staggering drug costs, a deficit in specialized medical training for doctors — all of these factors make survival rare for a kid with cancer in Africa.
But St. Baldrick’s researcher Dr. Joseph Lubega hopes to change that with a pioneering program that will train a new wave of East African pediatricians in children’s oncology and hematology.
Africa Brings Different Pediatric Cancer Challenges
On this International Childhood Cancer Day, let’s look at the continent of Africa and, specifically, a cancer researcher who is working to create a vaccine for a particularly frightening kind of cancer.
St. Baldrick’s Top 10 Highlights of 2017
2017 was a big year, full of breakthroughs, incredible stories and some pretty amazing achievements in the childhood cancer world. Join us as we reflect on St. Baldrick’s top 10 highlights of the past year — and make sure you give yourself a pat on the back, because much of this was possible because of YOU!
Are you ready to take a trip down memory lane? Here we go …
1) Passage of the RACE Act
International Scholar in Uganda Gives Kids With Cancer Hope [VIDEO]
Investing in the next generation of childhood cancer researchers — like researcher and St. Baldrick’s International Scholar Dr. Joseph Lubega — can change the lives of kids with cancer all over the world. Read on (and watch a video shot at the Uganda Cancer Institute) to learn more about the huge impact Dr. Lubega is making on kids with cancer in East Africa.
When Belinda heard, ‘leukemia,’ she was terrified.
She feared cancer. Belinda saw the impact it had on her family. In fact, she’d attended her cousin’s funeral in the spring. But cancer striking her 5-year-old daughter, Christa? How could that happen?
The Global Problem of Childhood Cancer and St. Baldrick’s International Impact
Kids fight cancer all over the world — but they don’t all have the same chance for a cure. This International Childhood Cancer Day, learn more about the global problem of childhood cancer and what St. Baldrick’s is doing about it, as explained by St. Baldrick’s researcher and Scientific Advisory Committee member Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo.
A child is fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, in New York. Another child is fighting ALL in Guatemala City. And another in rural Uganda.
All of those kids should have the chance to live long and healthy lives and have access to the best treatments possible. But the reality is more complicated.
Pediatric Cancer Research Facts: A Decade of Successes [INFOGRAPHIC]
Kids are special, and childhood cancers are different than adult cancers. That’s why we’re funding research to find new therapies and cures just for kids.
We asked our researchers, “In the last 10 years, what’s been the greatest achievement in the field of pediatric cancer research?”
Here’s what they had to say.
2014 Summer Grants: A Record-Breaking Year
It’s the biggest grants release of the year: the St. Baldrick’s Foundation Summer Grants. This year, the announcement is bigger than ever! Don’t miss the video where we surprise some of our researchers with the exciting news. To see the research St. Baldrick’s is funding near you, visit our Grants Search.
You have made 2014 a record-breaking year.
In addition to helping St. Baldrick’s break a world record for head-shaving, this year our incredible St. Baldrick’s volunteers have raised more money for childhood cancer research than ever before — an amazing feat!
All of that hard work is paying off today, as we announce our annual Summer Grants. This is our biggest grant release of the year, and 2014 is a milestone for us all, as we give over $24.7 million in children’s cancer research grants — more than any year prior.
These Pediatric Oncologists Weren’t Expecting This Great News [VIDEO]
We surprised a few recipients of our 2014 Summer Grants with some exciting news — and we caught it all on video.
This is one of the most anticipated times of the year at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation: the time when we are able to turn generously given donations over to the hands of the world’s best childhood cancer researchers.
This year, we added a little twist.
We told these researchers we had one final video interview for them before we would announce our funding decisions.
Watch the video and you’ll see — we tricked them. But it was worth it.
St. Baldrick’s Funds Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Research to Help Kids in China
Hui Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., a St. Baldrick’s International Scholar, is the first researcher in mainland China to receive funding from St. Baldrick’s. See all the 2014 Summer Grants.
Dr. Zhang is a St. Baldrick’s International Scholar working to improve survival of children with ALL in China.
But in China, the most populous country in the world, that’s not the case.
In fact, not even 10 years ago, less than 10% of kids with ALL in China had access to protocol-based chemotherapy — treatment guided by years of research into understanding which drugs work better for which patient populations.
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