This post was written by Kayla Dickhoff, who lost her daughter Jocelyn to cancer in July 2013. How have birthdays changed since losing Jocelyn? After thinking about this, I realized the answer is quite complicated and lengthy. Not only has her birthday changed, but birthdays before and after her death have changed as well. On June 12, 2019, we will celebrate what should be Jocelyn’s …
This piece was written by Joelle Oliver, mother to Patrick, who was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in November 2018. Originally from Minnesota, the Oliver family had moved to Indonesia before Patrick’s cancer diagnosis made it necessary for them to return to the United States for treatment. As I glance at the suitcase in the corner each time I enter the room, a flood of memories runs …
Sometimes, leukemia cancer cells are so powerful they can overcome the most potent of chemotherapies. Because of support in part by Children’s Cancer Research Fund’s donors, Peter Gordon, MD, PhD, an oncologist and researcher at the University of Minnesota, and his team could explore the reasons this happens, opening potential new avenues for treatment options for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and more. According to Dr. …
Dr. Angela Mortari uses a bioprinter to study spreading tumors. Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota. In today’s cancer research world, ink can be made out of biological materials, and human tissue can be printed three-dimensionally. Angela Mortari, PhD, vice chair for research, professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School and director of the 3D Bioprinting Facility, is …
Six-year-old Logan sits quietly in the back seat of his dad’s car, watching his favorite show, Thomas the Tank Engine. Outgoing and polite, Logan makes friends easily, is a hugger, and loves to flash his big, toothy grin. While Logan watches his favorite train characters on his iPad, his dad, Eric, recounts from the front seat the day when Logan’s and his family’s lives changed …
Two years ago, Carrie and Steve already had their hands full. As working parents to five daughters and owners of a cattle ranch in central Minnesota, they were a busy family, but happy that way. But when their youngest, Alizabeth, started feeling sick, everything changed. Carrie remembers the moment clearly – she was putting Alizabeth’s long blonde hair up in a ponytail when she noticed …
This essay was written by Gracie Bahr, a 17-year-old cancer survivor who found comfort in music therapy. The sunrise begins to peek through the grand window of the hospital room and shines on a young child. As she wakes up, you notice that she is a feeble, thirteen year old girl. This is the girl’s third year treating for cancer. She is now trying something …
On an otherwise normal morning in July, 5-month-old Carson woke up crying – hard. Kelly, Carson’s mom, did everything she could to comfort him, but Carson was inconsolable and soon started vomiting. Kelly took him to pediatric urgent care, where doctors did an x-ray and then sent Carson and Kelly to the emergency room. Carson was admitted that night, since it still wasn’t clear what …
Seventeen-year-old Gracie has always been an athlete – her coaches and teammates recognized her as a hard worker, and she was usually among the first to finish the difficult running drills that kept her in shape to play basketball. But when she started slipping from the front of the pack to trailing her teammates, she had an inkling that something bigger might be at play. …
Last week, we lost a close friend and fearless advocate. Our dear friend Nathalia passed away peacefully in her home on April 19 surrounded by her family. She was 15 years old. Nat was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, bone cancer, in July of 2016 when she was just 12. When we were introduced to her in 2017, we met a girl wise beyond her years and …
Texas In the past 40 years, scientists have made incredible progress in the world of childhood cancer research. Survival rates have risen dramatically for cancers like acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and others. But despite these impressive advances, no researcher has been able to crack the code behind diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an aggressive brain cancer with a 0 percent survival rate. But that …
This piece was originally posted by Tabitha Radermacher on the CaringBridge page for her daughter, Bella, who was diagnosed with stage IV hepatoblastoma on April 28, 2017. If you would have told us two years ago that our life would be flipped upside down and turned inside out to the point where all we breathe and think about is all the medical lingo and exams, …
Chicago, Illinois When Patrick started getting frequent nosebleeds the summer before senior year, he figured they were just from allergies. But when the nosebleeds threatened to interfere with his last season of high school football, he scheduled a simple surgery to get the nosebleeds taken care of. But after his surgery with an ear, nose and throat specialist, he was told it wasn’t that simple. …
A new study at the University of Minnesota found that cancer rates in children are increasing all over the world. The study, led by Jenny Poynter, PhD, was funded in part by Children’s Cancer Research Fund. It found that incidences of leukemia, certain brain tumors, neuroblastoma and hepatoblastoma have all increased in children under the age of 5. The study specifically focused on the rising …
This piece was originally posted by Kristy Westrom on the CaringBridge page for her son, Liam, who was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in May 2018. You know that feeling when you’re so exhausted that you just don’t know if you have it in you to keep going… but you do it anyway? There are a few times that I have truly felt like …
Occasionally, parents of children with cancer experience surprising and tense situations with clinical care teams. For Nicole, mother of acute myeloid leukemia survivor Jacob, this meant having honest conversations with Jacob’s doctors and nurses, or pushing back and diligently asking questions to effectively make decisions for his overall health. When Jacob was going through the thick of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant and not feeling …
When you’re caring for a child with cancer, self-care could easily be the last thing on your mind. Caregivers frequently hear phrases like “you have to take care of yourself to care for your child” or “you can’t pour water from an empty cup,” but self-care isn’t easy when all your energy is going towards your child. CCRF asked caregivers how they care for themselves …
(Above): Angie with Catherine in 1998, when Catherine was in treatment for cancer. Very few people understand just what a family goes through while their child is battling cancer – the intense ups and downs, the loneliness, the stress of fighting a scary disease in an unfamiliar place. It’s a small community made up of only those who have seen it, up close. Angie Dahl …
