What Is Proton Therapy?
Dr. Ralph Ermoian is a radiation oncologist and St. Baldrick’s infrastructure grant recipient at the University of Washington. He explains what proton therapy is, how it works, and how this treatment is helping kids and adults with cancer.
What is proton therapy?
Proton therapy is a type of radiation used commonly for children with cancer. Like traditional x-ray radiation, it is used to treat cancers, but proton therapy affects less of the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor.
My Cousin Has Cancer, But She Will Not Fight Alone
For Maddie Messner, family comes first. So when she heard the news that her cousin, Allie, was diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma, Maddie knew she had to do something to help. Read on to see how Maddie has decided to “rally for Allie,” and how Allie inspired her along the way.
Cousins Allie (left) and Maddie share a very close friendship.
My cousins and sisters are my best friends.
The 11 of us call ourselves “the cousin clan.” Growing up, we did everything together: sleepovers, parties, road trips. I even shared a dorm room with my one of my cousins all through college.
Elise Steps Into a Bright Future After Rotationplasty Surgery
When it came time to talk about surgery for bone cancer, 9-year-old Honored Kid Elise took charge. Read on to learn about Elise’s cancer journey, the decision she made, and how she’s moving forward with her life.
Wise beyond her years, 9-year-old Elise has been a full participant in her treatment decisions.
Nine-year-old Elise has some advice for any kid facing a big, tough decision.
“It’s your decision,” she said. “It’s your life.”
Elise knows all about making life-changing decisions. When it came time to choose the best surgery to rid her right leg of bone cancer, it was Elise who spoke up first.
We Survived Together: A Letter to My Mom on Mother’s Day
2013 Ambassador Emily is living it up in the Big Apple as a student at New York University. Meanwhile, her mom is on the other side of the country in California. Despite the distance, Emily made sure her mom is feeling loved for Mother’s Day — read Emily’s touching letter below.
Emily and her mom have a close relationship.
Dear Mom,
First off, happy Mother’s Day! I love you so much, which I hope you already know. I hope you can understand how difficult it is for me to write this letter because you (and Dad and Max) mean more to me than everything in the world.
What I Think of When I Hear the Word ‘Cancer’
Cierra Walsh was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right femur on March 19, 2014. She went through nine months of chemotherapy and four surgeries on her leg. Now, the 15-year-old has a strong voice for kids with cancer — read what she has to say about it.
Cierra, surrounded by her friends, poses with her newly shaved head.
People often say that the three most important words in the English language are “I love you.”
But my life experience suggests something different. The three most important words to me are “you have cancer.”
Everything in my life has been changed by those three simple words.
St. Baldrick’s Researcher Discovers New Way to Detect Bone Cancer
St. Baldrick’s Fellow Dr. Wendy Rhoades has developed a new tool that could save lives — a blood test that can detect whether a patient has bone cancer. Read on for more about her incredible work and how it could help kids with cancer.
Dr. Wendy Rhoades works in the lab at Texas Children’s Hospital.
What if a simple blood test could detect childhood cancer?
That’s exactly what Dr. Wendy Rhoades is looking into with her St. Baldrick’s-funded research.
Meet Alyssa
One morning in the summer of 2013, Alyssa awoke to discover she couldn’t walk. The pain was intense and persistent. What her family thought was growing pains continued beyond that morning and into the next and the next.
‘Racing for a Reason’: Alex’s Ironman Triathlon for Caroline Richards
Alex Penny is a physical therapist who recently completed a grueling Ironman triathlon. His inspiration? A former patient, Ambassador Caroline. “She gave me the courage to fight through every cramp and all the nausea and exhaustion of training this past year,” Alex writes. Read on to see how Ambassador Caroline pushed Alex to keep going — and to raise over $4,000 for childhood cancer research along the way.
Caroline was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in January 2014 and spent much of that year in the hospital in Houston.
I am a physical therapist at a major cancer hospital in Texas. I specialize in the rehabilitation of pediatric bone tumor patients, most often following major orthopedic reconstructive surgeries. This is how I met Caroline Richards and her family.
How St. Baldrick’s Helped Me Get Through Childhood Cancer Treatment
Nothing about fighting cancer is easy, and it doesn’t help being a lone adult in the pediatric cancer ward. As a 25-year-old diagnosed with pediatric osteosarcoma, Mina Schultz found herself sinking into depression with no end in sight — until she went to a St. Baldrick’s event. Mina shares her story.
Mina, left, smiles with a friend. She is now four years post-treatment for osteosarcoma.
Stay Positive: Tori’s Story
Honored Kid Victoria, nicknamed Tori, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma just over a year ago. Now the 9-year-old is back playing basketball with her friends, which is her favorite thing to do. “I learned a lot from her this year, just about being positive, sticking with it, trying not to let things get me down and trying to find the good in stuff,” said her mom, Erika. “She taught us all a lot, I think, just being so strong.”
Tori smiles alongside her stuffed monkey as she’s prepped for surgery.
Armed with her megawatt smile, that was the way Tori handled everything childhood cancer threw in her way — she stayed positive.
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