The Childhood Cancer Blog
The Childhood Cancer Blog
![Right now, Lincoln is having his last immunotherapy infusion to treatment ependymoma at a clinical trial far from home. Right now, Lincoln is having his last immunotherapy infusion to treatment ependymoma at a clinical trial far from home.](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-194.png?itok=wxRdUpCK)
Right now, Lincoln is having his last immunotherapy infusion to treatment ependymoma at a clinical trial far from home.
![Give today and ALDI USA will generously match all online donations made to Giving Tuesday fundraisers for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (up to $100,000)! Give today and ALDI USA will generously match all online donations made to Giving Tuesday fundraisers for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (up to $100,000)!](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/gt_2022_blogbanner_800x500.jpg?itok=qBWqQXnj)
Give today and ALDI USA will generously match all online donations made to Giving Tuesday fundraisers for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (up to $100,000)!
![Right now, Matteo continues to navigate the aftermath of kidney cancer with regular scans and constant fear of recurrence. Right now, Matteo continues to navigate the aftermath of kidney cancer with regular scans and constant fear of recurrence.](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-195.png?itok=ULTVzSiZ)
Right now, Matteo continues to navigate the aftermath of kidney cancer with regular scans and constant fear of recurrence.
![Right now, Jonathon is fighting a new diagnosis from cancer treatment. Right now, Jonathon is fighting a new diagnosis from cancer treatment.](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-196.png?itok=50yH1Qet)
Right now, Jonathon is fighting a new diagnosis from cancer treatment.
![Right now, Olivia is completing her final week of chemotherapy in her fight against rhabdomyosarcoma Right now, Olivia is completing her final week of chemotherapy in her fight against rhabdomyosarcoma](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-197.png?itok=BOCIiMaU)
Right now, Olivia is completing her final week of chemotherapy in her fight against rhabdomyosarcoma
![Right now, Cole is facing cancer for the second time, 15 years after his original diagnosis with neuroblastoma. Right now, Cole is facing cancer for the second time, 15 years after his original diagnosis with neuroblastoma.](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-198.png?itok=M_UUAnzv)
Right now, Cole is facing cancer for the second time, 15 years after his original diagnosis with neuroblastoma.
![Right now, Yash is living with a cancer predisposition that has caused him to face cancer several times. Right now, Yash is living with a cancer predisposition that has caused him to face cancer several times.](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-193_0.png?itok=9_cccA9_)
Right now, Yash is living with a cancer predisposition that has caused him to face cancer several times.
![Right now, Bernadette and her family continue to fight for cures for a rare hereditary cancer that struck Bernadette and her father. Right now, Bernadette and her family continue to fight for cures for a rare hereditary cancer that struck Bernadette and her father.](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-200.png?itok=ehHfxCwG)
Right now, Bernadette and her family continue to fight for cures for a rare hereditary cancer that struck Bernadette and her father.
![Right now, Tamiyah’s tumors are stable, but her fight against neurofibromatosis isn’t over. Right now, Tamiyah’s tumors are stable, but her fight against neurofibromatosis isn’t over.](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-201.png?itok=uQaEznzv)
Right now, Tamiyah’s tumors are stable, but her fight against neurofibromatosis isn’t over.
Lincoln’s battle with ependymoma, the third most common type of pediatric brain tumor, began when he was 3 years old. Treatment after treatment failed. And now, five years later, Lincoln is hopefully finishing treatment for good.
His family enrolled him in a clinical trial in Augusta, Georgia, 1,000 miles away from their home in Dartmouth, New Hampshire. The trial, which uses chemotherapy with immunotherapy to treat brain tumors, is led by Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation-funded researcher Dr. Ted Johnson. Lincoln... Read More
![](https://www.alexslemonade.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/untitled_design-193.png?itok=iCy4A4DV)
When Yash was 8 years old, he was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer predisposition syndrome called constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD). Photo credit: Deanna Decker Photography
One of the very first questions families ask doctors after a childhood cancer diagnosis is, “What caused this disease?”
Unlike adult cancers, which are more likely driven by lifestyle or environmental factors, childhood cancers are not typically linked to either of these factors. Their cause remains mostly unknown — however, recent studies have shown that between 10-15% of all childhood cancers do have an underlying cause: a genetic predisposition to develop cancer.
Researchers know there are more than 100 different genetic syndromes that predispose children to develop... Read More
What if a specific type of diet could magnify the impact of a targeted childhood cancer treatment? That’s the question Dr. Palaniraja Thandapani had after his initial findings that T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) relied upon a specific amino acid, called valine, to grow.
“That is an essential amino acid, and usually you acquire them from your food, it's not like your body can make them,” said Dr. Thandapani. “So that led to the idea that it can be targeted with the amount of availability of this amino acid in diet.”
This research was the genesis of Dr. Thandapani... Read More
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