star act

Thirteen-year-old Sydney spent much of her early childhood battling a brain tumor. This year, the nine-year childhood cancer survivor took a special trip with her dad, Pete, to Washington, D.C. “This experience taught us how important it is to never stop fighting for something you believe in,” Pete writes. He tells Sydney’s story and shares why the trip was so meaningful to them.

Pete and Sydney outside of Senator Marco Rubio’s office during this year’s Childhood Cancer Action Days in Washington, D.C.

Whiplash. Pulled muscle. Bronchitis. Flu. Virus. Stomach bug. For months, it was a different diagnosis at every doctor’s visit.

Read more »

A coordinated community effort is underway to storm Congress — on foot and online. Childhood cancer organizations throughout the country are joining together to send Congress a message:

Read more »

President Obama recently announced a new national effort to conquer cancer. See how St. Baldrick’s is already at work and how you can help.

We fully support this effort, and together, I believe we have the passion, creativity, and energy to help make it happen.

Read more »

Two of Carlos Sandi’s three children have been diagnosed with cancer — Althea, who died in 2006, and Phineas, who is now cancer free thanks to childhood cancer research. Carlos takes his family’s story to his representatives in this moving letter.

The Sandi family (left to right): Fiona, Carlos, Phineas and Tina.

Dear Senators:

I am writing today to ask for your support of the childhood cancer STAR Act. This bill reflects the highest-level legislative priorities as defined by rounds of carefully considered conversation among the many groups comprising the Alliance for Childhood Cancer.

I don’t know what the rubric or algorithm is for deciding if you should co-sponsor a bill, but I can tell you from personal experience that without direct federal support for childhood cancer research in the form of the NIH Pediatric Oncology Branch, my son Phineas would not be spending this week attending a Lego robotics camp; he would be every bit as dead as his older sister who we lost to acute myeloid leukemia in 2006.

Read more »

Here’s what you should know about the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill to ever hit Congress, and how you can help create change for kids with cancer.

In June, over 300 childhood cancer advocates hit Capitol Hill for Childhood Cancer Action Days. They asked our legislators to make childhood cancer a national priority and to support the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Treatment Access and Research (STAR) Act, a bill that addresses some of the major issues facing the childhood cancer community.

The STAR Act has three main areas of focus:

Read more »