The Power of Starting Early: How One Grant Sparked Lifesaving Leukemia Discoveries
In 2015, Jessica Heath, M.D., at Duke University School of Medicine received early research funding from Rally Foundation for Childhood...
What Are the Most Common Childhood Cancers?
It’s no secret that adults get cancer. But children get cancer, too -- and it’s more common than you might think. Worldwide, 300,000 kids...
What is Rhabdomyosarcoma?
Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a type of soft tissue cancer that most commonly affects children and adolescents. It’s often found in skeletal...
What is Ewing Sarcoma?
Ewing Sarcoma Defined Ewing sarcoma is a cancerous bone tumor that affects children, adolescent and young adults—usually developing during...
May Is Brain Tumor Awareness Month
May Is Brain Tumor Awareness Month May is recognized as Brain Tumor Awareness Month, a time dedicated to shining a light on one of the...
What Is Osteosarcoma?
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents. The tumor often originates in the long bones of the body,...
What is Brain Tissue Donation?
When your child is first diagnosed with brain cancer, you may be asked if you want to donate your child’s tumor tissue. A brain tissue...
What Is MIBG?
When your child is diagnosed with cancer, you have to learn a whole new language in just a few days. Terms, phrases, and abbreviations are...
What is Rotationplasty?
If your child is diagnosed with osteosarcoma or Ewing sarcoma, both different types of bone cancer, near or around the knee, your doctor...
What Is a Lumbar Puncture? What is a Spinal Tap?
It’s scary enough to have your child diagnosed with cancer. But on top of that you hear all these new words and terms, which can be...
The Power of Starting Early: How One Grant Sparked Lifesaving Leukemia Discoveries
In 2015, Jessica Heath, M.D., at Duke University School of Medicine received early research funding from Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. That first grant helped launch her career and gave her the chance to study how leukemia begins. Dr. Heath focused on a protein called CRM1. This protein normally helps cells work the right way. But in leukemia, CRM1 can help cancer grow. Rally’s early support gave her the freedom to ask big questions about how leukemia starts and spreads. ...
What Are the Most Common Childhood Cancers?
It’s no secret that adults get cancer. But children get cancer, too -- and it’s more common than you might think. Worldwide, 300,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer every year. And in the U.S., 1 in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before they turn 20. There are many types of childhood cancers. Some cancers are more common in children than adults, and there are some cancers that only children get. Here’s a look at some of the most common childhood cancers. Leukemia The most common...
What is Rhabdomyosarcoma?
Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a type of soft tissue cancer that most commonly affects children and adolescents. It’s often found in skeletal muscle tissue or organs, such as the head and neck area, the urinary system, the reproductive system or appendages like the arms and legs. Rhabdomyosarcoma is part of a larger grouping of cancers called sarcomas which emerge in the body’s connective tissues, like muscles, fat, bones, blood vessels and joints. There are 50 different types of sarcomas. There...
What is Ewing Sarcoma?
Ewing Sarcoma Defined Ewing sarcoma is a cancerous bone tumor that affects children, adolescent and young adults—usually developing during puberty between the ages of 10 and 20 years old. Approximately 87% of Ewing sarcomas are in the long bone, meaning the arm, thigh, shin and pelvis. On rare occasion, Ewing sarcomas can occur in soft tissue like cartilage or nerves. These are called pPNET tumors and can be found in the nerve tissue in many parts of the body; if a pPNET is found in the chest,...
May Is Brain Tumor Awareness Month
May Is Brain Tumor Awareness Month May is recognized as Brain Tumor Awareness Month, a time dedicated to shining a light on one of the most complex and aggressive forms of cancer affecting children. Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in kids, yet they remain underfunded compared to other cancers. This month is about more than awareness. It is about urgency. It is about progress. And most importantly, it is about the children and families facing diagnoses that no one...
What Is Osteosarcoma?
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents. The tumor often originates in the long bones of the body, and while osteosarcoma frequently starts in a particular bone, it can potentially move to other sites in the body, such as the lungs and other bones. This movement, known as metastasis, makes the disease more difficult to treat. “For patients that present with no evidence of metastatic or disseminated disease, the overall prognosis is about 70-75%,” said...