The Childhood Cancer Blog

The Childhood Cancer Blog

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

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF)-funded researcher Dr. Leo Wang got his start in oncology research by studying acute myeloid leukemia. Now, he is taking his leukemia discoveries and translating that work into the study of immunotherapy as a treatment for brain tumors.  

During his initial research, funded by an ALSF Young Investigator Grant, Dr. Wang became fascinated by leukemia stem cells (LSCs) and their ability to resist chemotherapy. Dr. Wang hypothesized that these LSCs caused relapses, common in... Read More

I want to tell the world about a friend of mine. Some call him Patrick O’Malley, others call him a husband but I call him dad. He has been my best friend since the day I was born. When I was a child, we did everything together. He coached both my sister's and my soccer teams growing up. He taught me how to read and write, but most importantly he taught me to be a good person. 

I was 7 years old when I was diagnosed with brain cancer. My diagnosis day was my dad's birthday -- May 29. That day, I saw him drop to his knees and cry. There’s something to be said about seeing your dad... Read More

My daughter Lily was diagnosed with a brain tumor called ependymoma 17 years ago. 

She is only 18 years old. 

Lily’s entire life, at least as much as she can remember, has been in the shadow of cancer. When she was 10 years old, we were talking about childhood cancer. I was trying to make her feel better and less scared. She looked at me and said:

“It’s forever, mommy.”

Lily is cancer-free today, but her life is hardly free of cancer. 

There are over 500,000 childhood cancer survivors in the United States. And while 84% of children diagnosed will... Read More

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