CBTTC Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas
You may have missed this announcement; lost in the shuffle of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Maybe you saw the announcement and didn’t quite understand the importance of the launch. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas is a major step forward in advancing collaboration and accelerating research. We are proud to be part of this organization and…
I Want To Talk About Michael
Wow, I cannot believe that Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is finally coming to a close! Most of you know that helping kids with cancer is the passion that fuels every decision I make and action I take. I am years away from (hopefully) becoming a pediatric oncologist, but I have the power to advocate and…
Cancer is a Journey, Not a Battle
I cringe every time I read or hear someone is “fighting cancer or battling cancer”. This language implies a war, which means there is a winner and a loser. I’m betting you know someone who died from cancer and you also know that person was anything but a loser. I realize it’s difficult to know…
When I Think of Michael
When I think of Michael, many of the images I have of him are often frozen in the seventh grade. That school year, by some stroke of luck, he, Bridget and I all had lockers next to each other. Everyday when I got to my locker, I could always count on Michael to greet me…
The Misleading Statistics
When I hear 90% cure rate for childhood cancers I want to scream or possibly throw up! That stat is SO misleading. That stat is talking about surviving 5 years. Living with cancer for five years IS NOT CURING cancer! Especially if you are 6 years old when you are diagnosed. This steers research…
Reflections On My Hike
In the summer of 2015, before starting my third year at Pomona College, I decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. More specifically, I decided that a long walk along the western geological spine of the continental United States from Mexico to Canada was a goal that could not be left to slowly erode over…
Hands
Looking down at these hands of mine I see calluses rimmed with dirt dotting their landscapes, cuts and scabs joining my mountainous knuckles to the valleys in the topography of my palms, and vast clearing of exposed flesh encircling my nails. I see bloodied skin dangling from my right pointer finger from the time it…
Kira: From Washington to Chile and STILL Making a Difference
Some of you may recall that I spent six weeks in Washington, D.C. last summer as an intern with Kids v. Cancer. Remember all my terribly awkward Facebook Live videos? Well, I for one have tried strenuously to forget them, so maybe we should refresh our memories! I went to D.C. as a pediatric cancer…
For Too Many Kids September Doesn’t Mean Back to School
I can’t believe I’m writing about Childhood Cancer Awareness month again. I can’t believe this is the sixth Sept that Michael is gone. No Back to School for him or the thousands of other children who have lost their lives to cancer. What a shame…how unjust If you have children grumbling about going back to…
Cavatica
Hopefully you read my earlier blog on ISPNO, the International Society of Pediatric-Neuro–Oncology. I wrote that several doctors spoke on how fundamental the need for tissue is for their cancer research. Swifty’s Post Mortem Tissue donation program was seen as an excellent way to facilitate getting tissue to the labs where it is needed. “Big…
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