The Childhood Cancer Blog
The Childhood Cancer Blog
“She’s blossomed,” said Jessica, Brynn's mom.
An inspiring way to kick off the giving season, Giving Tuesday is a global charity movement, a worldwide day of giving, and one of the most important chances of the year to help kids with cancer through ALSF.
“It was surreal. It was scary to hand your 2-year-old over to a stranger,” said Jessica, remembering Brynn's first 10-hour brain surgery.
Brynn was on a trip to Sesame Place with her family when she became ill and was diagnosed with a relapse.
Brynn wore a different princess dress to each of her 33 proton radiation treatments.
Brynn and her family were on a much-anticipated mini-break to Sesame Place, a theme park in suburban Philadelphia. They made the five-hour drive from Rhode Island earlier in the week, excited for their annual tradition after a hard year. Brynn had been diagnosed with a brain tumor called ependymoma, but was now finished with treatment and the family was back to their regular lives.
Their first day in the theme park was rainy. Brynn, who was just 4 years old, spent most of the day in the stroller, tired and uninterested in the parades. Her mom, Jessica, thought it was disappointing... Read More
Ailani has relapsed seven times. “Chemo didn’t work for her. Bone marrow transplants, those didn’t work for her. The only thing we’ve had to rely on is clinical trials,” said Princecine, her mom.
Throughout her experience, Ailani has had several photoshoots with Flashes of Hope, a program of ALSF, that show Ailani as she’s grown from a very sick little girl to the vibrant, 8-year-old she is now. Some of the photos were taken during uncertain, scary times – but resulted in beautiful markers of Ailani’s journey. Credit: FOH/ALSF by Erica Kavadias
An inspiring way to kick off the giving season, Giving Tuesday is a global charity movement, a worldwide day of giving, and one of the most important chances of the year to help kids with cancer through ALSF.
“We refuse to give up until we’ve exhausted every treatment, flipped over every stone,” said Kurt, Ailani’s dad.
“I want them to get better medicine for kids,” said Ailani, who has sung “Fight Song” at a variety of childhood cancer awareness events.
If you hang around 8-year-old Ailani long enough, you might hear her humming one song or another, maybe Fight Song, which she’s performed on stage at several childhood cancer awareness events. You might catch her playing with one of her many dolls, prepping her babies for the day or the night. Ailani likes to talk, too.
When we interviewed Ailani and her parents, Kurt and Princecine, a few weeks ago, she left partway through the interview to play, but made sure to let us know that she wanted to come back before we finished.
“Let me know when you say goodbye,” she sang... Read More
When Sam and Katie found out that their 9-month-old son had cancer, a happy ending felt like the farthest thing from reality.
It was 2019 when the couple took their son, Jude, for a routine checkup. Everything seemed to be going well until the pediatrician noticed a strange glint in Jude’s eye. Having worked as a child life specialist in the field of pediatric oncology for 8 years, Katie feared for the worst when they referred him to a pediatric ophthalmologist.
It took two scans for the ophthalmologist to confirm Katie’s worst fear–Jude had a small tumor in his retina.... Read More
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