St. Baldrick’s Ambassadors represent the wide diversity of kids diagnosed with childhood cancers. Their stories highlight the importance of supporting the best childhood cancer research so all kids diagnosed can live long, healthy, productive and happy lives.
A year ago, Sage was as excited as any 4-year-old at Christmastime. His family had no idea how much their lives would change just a month later.
Sage opening presents on Christmas Day 2021
This research is powered by you. This quarterly edition of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation Research Outcomes recognizes promising research to improve survival rates, provide holistic therapies, and translate adult drugs into pediatric trials.
Thank you for making research possible.
I will never forget the evening of Sunday, December 14, 2014, when the ER doctor and the pediatric neurologist on call entered our triage room and told us that our sweet eight-year-old girl had a huge brain tumor and life-threatening obstructive hydrocephalus. That moment left an indelible mark on my heart. The fear, the heartache, helplessness, and especially the unyielding desire to eliminate our baby’s pain and suffering were soul-crushing.
“Supergirl Julia” today
EXCITING UPDATE November 1, 2022: The largest academic collaboration of its kind was announced last month, and it builds off this St. Baldrick’s supported work. The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will collaborate to transform and accelerate the identification of vulnerabilities in pediatric cancers and translate them into better treatments.
Dr. Stegmaier said, “The Pediatric Cancer Dependency Map provided our community with a treasure trove of new data. However, the next critical step was to validate candidate gene targets emerging from this project. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation Robert J Arceci Innovation Award provided the critical funding for us to demonstrate the power of the Pediatric Cancer Dependency Map.
With St. Baldrick’s support, we validated new candidate therapeutic targets in childhood cancers, such as Ewing sarcoma and neuroblastoma, which have led to the launching of drug discovery efforts, and we have gained novel insights into the mechanistic underpinnings of these diseases. We were able to show our community the power of the project. I think we are just at the tip of the iceberg. We are all very excited about the promise of what is to come through this new large-scale collaboration.”
We are excited to see the impact this collaboration has in helping to conquer childhood cancer.
Of the many incredible things St. Baldrick’s donors have made possible for kids with cancer, one stands out to me like no other. The return on investment from this one grant has already far exceeded expectations, and each year its impact continues to grow.
With the goal of training doctors from low- and middle-income countries, the first St. Baldrick’s International Scholar was awarded in 2013. But while Dr. Joseph Lubega of Uganda was in training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, he was also planting a seed: He set up the first pediatric oncology program for pediatricians in his home country.
With St. Baldrick’s support, Dr. Lubega became one of the first trained pediatric oncologists in all of Uganda, where the need is great – as it is across Africa.
The following speech was a highlight of the March 2022 St. Baldrick’s event at St. Agnes Parish Center in Rockville Centre, NY. With thanks to Greta, we’re sharing it so others can hear her experience and how she feels about St. Baldrick’s, as a childhood cancer survivor.
“Hi! My name is Greta Ohanian and I am currently 6 years out of treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Sometimes I struggle with what to say at events like this because there are so many aspects of cancer that I could touch on as a survivor. But one of the worst parts is how frightening it is to go into a cancer diagnosis knowing how limited the treatment is.
Greta during treatment.
Read on to learn about some of the research that – thanks to you – is changing the world of childhood cancer care.
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