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Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) is proud to award $10.5 million in its latest round of funding. The new grants support 12 research organizations that are working to improve treatment and outcomes for children and adolescents with cancer.
Eleven livestreamers teamed up and raised $12,399 in just five days for their World Cancer Day campaign. We talked to three of these livestreamers about how they use their platforms to entertain, educate and fundraise for good. When COVID-19 made it much less possible for Jarek Mueller, Stephanie Kelter and Katie Arcand to meet with friends in-person, they took their hobbies online. Jarek started streaming …
Each day, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States. That adds up to nearly 16,000 per year. So why is nearly every childhood cancer considered “rare?” And why are so many of those cancers considered too rare to fund research into them by large sources like the National Institute of Health?
Alisa describes her niece, Malia, as a “firecracker” who loved her friends and family fiercely, and continued playing soccer even during chemotherapy to treat her Wilms tumor. When the 9-year-old from Forrest Lake, Minnesota passed away in 2010, it was her determination and her boundless love for life that her family wanted to remember most. They remembered one day during Malia’s Make-A-Wish trip when they …
They say the best things that happen are unexpected. In Timothy Hallstrom’s lab, some retinoblastoma cells and immune cells acted so curiously, they inspired him to look into a new way to combat the eye cancer. Observing cancer is a little bit like watching a micro-battle plan play out. Cancer is usually on the offense, and scientists try to create a defense plan to fight …
Over the last 9 years, Jenny Poynter, PhD, assembled the largest collection of genetic samples of pediatric germ cell tumors available in the world.
For 12 years, she has been researching germ cell tumors, which occur primarily inside the ovaries and testes. At long last, and thanks in part to Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF), she’s poised to discover the reasons why kids’ genes go haywire and develop the disease.
In August 2020, Children’s Cancer Research Fund started Zach’s Movement, a campaign to coincide with the release of “Clouds,” an original movie based on the life of Zach Sobiech on Disney+. By the end of 2020, Zach’s Movement helped the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund reach an incredible $2,324,505 for osteosarcoma research.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, Beau Webber, PhD, an expert in genetic engineering and stem cell research, had to essentially shut down his lab for two months.
2020 was a tumultuous year for many childhood cancer researchers, whose work most often takes place in labs that require hands-on, in-person work.
“The lab is where everything important happens,” said Beau Webber, PhD, an expert in genetic engineering and stem cell research at the University of Minnesota. His lab had to essentially shut down for two months following the outbreak of COVID-19.
However, many researchers were able to continue pursuing big ideas this year, despite the extra challenges. Research into new and innovative ways of fighting childhood cancers, including leukemia, osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma and brain tumors moved forward.
Here are our top 5 childhood cancer research wins of 2020.
Osteosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer, has many lethal talents: it can shuffle around its genome to evade therapies, confuse the immune system, and grow exponentially even if it starts with just a few cancer cells in a child’s body.
“It’s an immediate life change,” Mona said. “There’s so much information being thrown at you at one time, and Cash was asking questions like why he couldn’t eat, when could we go home… he didn’t really understand what it all meant.” Three-year-old Cash has always been an active toddler – he played baseball and soccer, and was taking swimming and MMA lessons to burn off …
Above: The “Clouds” cast alongside Zach Sobiech’s family and friends at Clouds Choir 2019. The 2020 virtual Clouds Choir took place on on December 11 at KS95.com. This year, Disney+ brought Zach Sobiech’s story to the world with the movie “Clouds,” based on his rise to fame before dying of osteosarcoma in 2013. But the first people who helped spread Zach’s music and joy were …
Michael Harris understands better than most the fear that comes with a cancer diagnosis. He was on the way out of his annual wellness exam when he mentioned to his doctor that he thought now that he was 50, he thought he’d better schedule a colonoscopy. She told him that for African American men, she recommends starting as early as 40, so he scheduled an …
Left: Fin Argus, playing Zach Sobiech in “Clouds.” Right: The real Zach Sobiech plays a concert in Minnesota. On October 16, Disney+ released the original movie “Clouds,” an inspiring film based on the true story of teenage songwriter Zach Sobiech who rose to fame before passing away from osteosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer, in 2013. But how many of the events in the movie are …
Justin Baldoni at Clouds Choir 2019, a celebration where thousands gather at the Mall of America to sing Zach Sobiech’s song, “Clouds.” When actor and director Justin Baldoni first met Zach Sobiech eight years ago, he was shooting a documentary series called “My Last Days” about people who were navigating the experience of living while dying. He had already shot all six planned episodes, but …
DonateOn October 16, Disney+ released the movie “Clouds,” an inspiring film about teenage songwriter Zach Sobiech who rose to fame before passing away from osteosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer, in 2013. Before he passed away, Zach (played by Fin Argus) and his best friend and bandmate, Sammy Brown (played by Sabrina Carpenter) wrote several songs together as a way of saying goodbye once it was …
Donate“Clouds,” an original movie from Disney+, is based on the true story of Zach Sobiech, a Minnesota teen who passed away from osteosarcoma in 2013. Justin Baldoni, who directed “Clouds,” met Zach and his family in 2012 while filming a documentary called “My Last Days.” Ever since, Justin has been determined to make Zach’s story into a feature film. For more about Zach, read The …
“I wish I had better news to share with you,” the doctor said to parents Chris and Christine, whose 9-month old son, Brice, had just come out of emergency brain surgery. “But we have the possibility of a catastrophic event.” The Beginning Just a few weeks earlier, Chris and Christine had noticed that baby Brice had started holding his head slightly to the side. This …
The first tiny clue of cancer was hidden in then-2-year-old Maurice’s smile. “We first noticed something was wrong when we were looking at a picture of Maurice smiling,” said Patricia, Maurice’s mom. One of his chubby cheeks looked bigger than the other, but nobody thought much of it at the time. Then a bump started poking out under his right earlobe. After a month, the …
