Children battling cancer not only face the health effects of the cancer itself, but they also face short- and long-term side effects. During treatment, typical therapies like chemotherapy and radiation can compromise a child’s immune system, putting them more at risk for illnesses like COVID-19. Why is it important to protect children with cancer? Treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell transplantation and other therapies can weaken the immune system. Chemotherapy drugs, in particular, damage or destroy the cells inside the bone marrow, lowering the number of white blood... Read More
The Childhood Cancer Blog
Welcome to The Childhood Cancer Blog
from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation!
“Unfortunately it seems that almost every person’s life has been touched by cancer in some way. Because of that, everyone could appreciate and support the cause. They were all more than happy to donate rather than buy us gifts,” said Molly, who hosted a lemonade stand at her June engagement party.
“We all need to remind ourselves every day that there are more important things in the world than a pretty white dress, big cake, and the right angles for a perfect wedding portrait. We came together for love in more ways than one that day,” said Jackie, who supported ALSF at her bridal shower.
Jillian and Chris found ALSF to be the perfect partner charity for their upcoming August wedding. The couple will cool their guests down with a signature lemonade-inspired cocktail and also make a donation to ALSF in lieu of traditional favors.
“Childhood cancer research is such an important cause because we believe no child should suffer or be afflicted with this terrible illness. If we find a cure for this, it will benefit generations to come who will then make a difference in the lives of others,“ said Ira. Ira, together with his wife Andrea, asked guests at their destination wedding to skip the gifts and instead donate to ALSF.
Danielle and Michael knew they wanted to give back at their wedding, so they followed in Alex Scott’s footsteps and hosted a lemonade stand! The couple and guests made donations to ALSF and enjoyed ice cold lemonade.
When Jackie was planning her wedding to Bobby, the couple decided that their celebration would be about much more than the white dress and big cake. They wanted to share their love with their guests and the world. That’s why they decided to make charity an important part of their celebration.
The couple chose Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) as their charity of choice at their bridal shower.
“We came together for love in more ways than one that day... Read More
Above, Dr. Patrick Reynolds at The Childhood Cancer Repository in Lubbock, TX. Since its inception, the Childhood Cancer Repository has been powering childhood cancer research effort. As of February 2020, the Repository sent 2910 samples to 484 laboratories in 28 countries.
Above, Lilly Ibbotson with her family. “We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom. Families like the Ibbotsons can help accelerate research through tissue sample donation.
Above, staff at The Childhood Cancer Repository process and create cell lines from donated tissue. The Repository currently has 568 cell lines and 105 xenografts. That work will give researchers deeper insight into the specific mutations and biomarkers across these tumors. Because childhood cancer remains such a rare disease, this breadth of data could reveal novel ways to approach treatment if common targets are identified across tumors.
When Lilly faced surgery after relapsing, her family made the decision to donate extra tumor tissue to research instead of throwing it away.
“We hope that Lilly’s neuroblastoma tumor can be some small part of helping other children who are waiting for cures,” said Nicole Ibbotson, Lilly’s mom.
Tissue donation is a critical but often overlooked piece of childhood cancer research. As childhood cancer researchers work to find the drugs that could be cures, they are facing a critical shortage of tissue samples to... Read More
