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My daughter lies back in the tub on a white towel in the warm water, overjoyed with herself as she splashes. She is 8 months old: beautiful, smart and happy. Her soft brown hair swirls in the water and her blue eyes crinkle. I should just be overjoyed at this happy moment, this quiet ritual before bed. A little crazy before calm with the joy …
As I reach the end of my battle with leukemia, I look back and see how I have developed over two years of fighting. I have changed in character, attitude and most importantly, my faith. Battling cancer helped me see other peoples’ suffering in a new way because I experienced my own terrible pain. Before my diagnosis I was cheerful but short-tempered. I could get …
Lucie Turcotte, MD, MPH, MS loves hearing about school, dating, graduations, weddings… everything “normal” in a childhood cancer survivor’s life. As a survivorship doctor and researcher at the University of Minnesota, she meets children and families at their absolute low points – sometimes when they are in the throes of potentially facing death. “Seeing them celebrate the milestones they feared would not come is almost …
Brooklyn was just 2 years old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. An aggressive treatment protocol meant she had to re-learn to crawl and walk, which robbed her of many moments as a “normal” toddler. Now, after 859 days, 5-year-old Brooklyn is finally finished with treatment. However, she still deals with the side effects of high-dose steroids, which impact her appetite, mood and …
When I became a father 10 years ago, I was ready. I had gotten a puppy a year prior – it didn’t die the first year, it was potty-trained and was a pretty well behaved dog (11 years old and still kickin’). So when we found out we were pregnant with our oldest son Adrien, I was prepared… Well, as prepared as a new father …
I feel like I have lived two lives: my pre-cancer life and my life as a survivor. Before my diagnosis, cancer was an ambiguous word that invoked an enormous amount of fear within me; like a soccer ball being kicked into my gut. It was my worst fear, yet I didn’t think I would ever face it personally. I was young, healthy and active. I …
Advocating for your child is exhausting. I am not talking about meeting with a teacher about make-up assignments, or an email sent to the baseball coach because your kid wasn’t playing enough. I am referring to the kind of advocacy that relies on your every thought and breath to navigate each next step for your child since the day a life-changing event happens. The moment …
On a snow-thawing day in Minnesota, osteosarcoma survivor Anna (35) wrote a beaming message on her Facebook page: “Mila Alice was born March 2, bright and early! She is definitely our sunshine!” Wrapped in a warm, gray polka-dot blanket, her tiny newborn spent a couple of days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after being born premature at 35 weeks. “My greatest triumph post-cancer …
Caregivers are present at the beginning, middle and end of cancer. Caregivers are the people who go to the first doctor appointment for “just a quick x-ray” or “a routine blood draw.” They are the people who answer the phone call from the doctor and tell their children that the routine check-up is no longer routine and that mutated cells are taking over their body. …
Eight hundred and fifty nine days. 859 days after our souls were crushed by the news that our toddler had blood cancer, she has completed her course of treatment. She has victoriously crossed the finish line in the endurance test of a lifetime. For 859 days we have spent a large portion of our waking hours worrying. Worrying that Brooklyn was losing too much weight, …
‘Midline malignant glioma’ is a mouthful – and it’s also one of the deadliest forms of childhood cancer. A four year old child diagnosed with this kind of brain tumor at has less than a five percent chance of making it to his or her sixth birthday. Traditional chemotherapy has not been effective against this type of cancer, and scientists haven’t found a better way …
April 30, 2017 will, for my wife and I, be a date that we will always know where we were, what we did, every moment of the entire day. It was a life-changing day. It changed our priorities, changed our course, changed the way we look at parenting, changed the way we look at our children and changed how I look at being a father. …
When I was 17 years old, I was a three-sport varsity athlete, lifeguard and fiercely independent oldest child. I spent most summer nights at bonfires or stargazing. I drove my red Dodge Stratus with the windows down all over southern Minnesota with my long blonde hair blowing in the wind and a Taylor Swift CD turned up louder than ear doctors would prefer. The summer …
Dustin Hron is a Care Partners volunteer in the bone marrow transplant unit at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. A neuroblastoma survivor himself, he has personal experience with what families in the hospital go through during difficult treatments. He uses his understanding of what parents are going through to bring a bright spot into their day. Here’s what Dustin had to say about …
It is with great sadness that we share our dear friend, Callie, passed away on Sat., April 7, 2018 after a two-year battle with pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma. She was surrounded by her parents and three older brothers. Callie was nine years old. Since her diagnosis in December 2015, Callie and her family decided not only to fight Callie’s cancer, but to be advocates for childhood cancer …
In his three years of participating in Great Cycle Challenge USA (GCC), Jeff Freitag has ridden 970 miles — that’s more than three times across his home state of Wisconsin. He plans to add another 500 miles to his already impressive total during Great Cycle Challenge this June. Riding this many miles is no easy feat, but Jeff says the kids’ stories keep him pedaling. …
Six years apart, a mother and daughter both passed away from brain cancer. Today, their families reached a goal set nearly 10 years ago to honor their memories and continue a legacy of supporting Children’s Cancer Research Fund. On October 15, 2008, Marissa Angell experienced two vastly different milestones in her life. The first – she turned 19 years old. The second – she was …
Michigan Kids are fearless, reckless and infinitely braver than most adults. I think that God makes them that way to remind us that he’s in charge, working behind the scenes and sometimes we just need to have faith. I know that firsthand from being the mom to three very active boys. When they were little, I would catch myself holding my breath and praying that …
