The Childhood Cancer Blog

The Childhood Cancer Blog

Welcome to The Childhood Cancer Blog
from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation!

ALSF Innovation grantee Darrell Yamashiro works in the lab at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Yamashiro works with Dr. Julia Bender-Glade (mentioned below) developing therapies for relapsed childhood cancer. 

by Trish Adkins

Gone are the days of just chemotherapy and radiation. Today’s researchers and oncologists are combining the traditional tools with cutting-edge biological medicine, genetic analysis and novel therapeutics in the labs and clinics. 

Childhood cancer researchers are working hard towards better treatments and more cures every single day. Here are five trends in research today:

1. Treating the patient, not just the cancer

For over 40 years, scientists have known about oncogenes, the abnormal genes that can drive the growth of abnormal cells that... Read More

Over 700 new children are affected by cancer every day. For these kids, years are too long to wait. To help researchers get to the clinical trial phase quicker, ALSF established the Reach grants. The program, which awards three multi-year grants annually, accelerates researchers closer to clinical trial.

The process of bringing an idea from the lab to clinical trial can take years. Researchers are not only required to prove the effectiveness of their science, they also need to get FDA approval to provide an experimental therapy to actual patients. On top of all this, researchers also must ensure that their home hospital has the correct infrastructure in place to administer a clinical trial.

Over 700 new children are affected by cancer every day. For these kids, years are too long to wait. To help researchers get to the clinical trial phase quicker, ALSF established the... Read More

Elijah was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, the most common solid non-brain tumor in children, at just 4 years old. His diagnosis came in 2005, just a year after Alex Scott passed away. Elijah’s family repeated the difficult cycle of remission and relapse over the next three years.

Elijah, now 17, is battling relapsed neuroblastoma.

After three years of treatment for neuroblastoma, Elijah Talley had exhausted options at his hometown hospital. Diagnosed when he was just 4 years old, Elijah went through the endless cycle of treatment and relapse, again and again. Conventional treatments, which included high dose chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant, failed.

Neuroblastoma, the most common type of extra-cranial solid tumor in children, can range from benign to malignant. Advances in targeted... Read More

Pages