Help and Hope Happen Here

Michael Cramer was diagnosed with Hepatosplenic T Cell Lymphoma in July of 2020.  Michael and his mother Ashlee will discuss the very difficult nearly 2 year treatment protocol that he had to go through in which Michael finally  began to recover and feel better beginning in April of 2022. Through it all  Michael and Ashlee started a podcast called Michael And Mom Talk Cancer, and used their social media platform to talk about his  cancer and to help others, including creating and publishing Rap Videos on You Tube. 

The Make a Wish Foundation is one of the most important and iconic organizations for children and adolescents who are undergoing treatment for a variety of diseases, with many of them battling Pediatric Cancer. On todays podcast Julie Abel and Amy Carroll from Make A Wish will talk about the innerworkings of an organization that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and is about to grant its 10,000th wish to a deserving child or adolescent.  Courtney and her son Colby will discuss the more than 800 day treatment regiment that Colby has completed for Pediatric Lymphoma and what the Make a Wish Foundation has meant to them. 

On today's podcast Julie Frampton will give great information on Melanoma , which is the most deadly form of skin cancer. Julie was diagnosed with Melanoma 12 years ago when she was 34 years old, had another diagnosis of it 2 years later but has had had No Evidence of Disease since. 
What is not as well known is the fact that this form of cancer can and does effect both children and adolescents. Julie will give a detailed tutorial on the dangers of Melanoma for the youngest population, and how she has been a strong advocate in trying to spread the word about what needs to be done to deal with a form of cancer which she believes there is no real cure for. 

For the past 35 years the RELAY FOR LIFE, a fundraiser that has raised more than 6.5 billion dollars for cancer research put on by the American Cancer Society has played a major role in the fight against cancer. On today's podcast Elenna Peroni a senior at Algonquin Regional High School in Northboro , Massachusetts will talk about this event which she organized in her high school, and that giving back to others plays such an important role in her life. 

On today's podcast Courtney Mount will talk about her daughter Millie who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma when she was two years old in 2018 and passed away during Covid.  Courtney will talk about Millie's treatment of chemotherapy and then immunotherapy which never really helped, and the difficult last few days before her passing. Courtney will also talk about her book Millie Finds Her Miracle, which focuses on helping children have an easier time facing death, and how we can decide to teach children healthy ways to cope with loss. 

Kelli Ritschel Boehle's son Nick passed away from Synovial Sarcoma in March of 2012. During his cancer battle which lasted for 3 1/2 years, Nick was undergoing a clinical trial at the National Institute of Health when he met a young man named Nate. Nick was just young enough after he was diagnosed to be able to take advantage of the Make A Wish Foundation who granted he and his family a trip to Hawaii but Nate was too old to be given a similar opportunity. On today's podcast, Kelli will talk about  how upset Nick was about Nate and asked his mother if she could help him in any way. .
After Nick passed away, not only did Kelli help Nate, but she is now helping many other cancer patients who range in age from 18-24 by starting the Nickolas Ritschel Foundation which grants wishes to this age group, in similar fashion to what the Make A Wish Foundation has been doing for many many years.

Leeanne West became the President of the International Children Advisory Network in 2018. This non-profit has 36 chapters in the United States, Canada, and Africa and its focus is to help empower children, adolescents, and young adults to make their own decisions concerning their individual health care battles. These chapters all have a Youth Council, a Young Professionals Group, a Siblings Group, and a Parents Group.  The chapters are associated with hospitals near where they are located, and are very supportive of the goal in helping these patients gain the knowledge and experience that they will need as they try and control as many of the decisions that have to be made in their individual health situations. Many of these situations involve Pediatric Cancer. 

Brandi Lee Sawyer's son Finn  was diagnosed with Rhabdomayosarcoma in 2016 when he was 18 months old and after a nearly 2 and a half year battle, passed away on December 2nd of 2018. Brandi Lee will talk about her beloved Finn on today's podcast and will also talk about the great advocacy work that she has been doing since his passing. Now the Director of Patient Advocacy and Engagement for the Shepherd Foundation which focuses on the rarest of cancers, Brandi Lee has been focusing on legislation involving Genomic Sequencing, which gives these kids and their families help in figuring out more precise detail about their individual cancers, which will lead to better overall treatment. 

After doing both his residency and post doctorate at Dana Farber and Boston Children's Hospital and spending a number of years working in one of the best Pediatric Cancer Hospitals in the Country, Adam Durbin moved to Memphis and to another great facility in St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 2 years ago to continue his more than blossoming career in Pediatric Cancer. Focusing on Neuroblastoma, Osteosarcoma , and Rhabdomayosarcoma, Dr. Durbin will talk about his Durbin lab, and the many projects that he and his colleagues are working on to improve the lives of these kids who deserve and need so much help. 

After watching her older brother successfully battle Leukemia as a teenager, Jen Costa decided early on that she wanted to be a Pediatric Oncology Nurse. On today's podcast, Jen will talk about her nearly 20 year career that she has spent working with patients suffering from Pediatric Cancer at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute,  as well as many other parts of nursing that she has been adding to her resume. One of Jen's major objectives is to work on a study that involves interviewing both parents of pediatric cancer patients and pediatric oncology nurses.  If anyone is interested in participating in Jen's study, then please contact her at [email protected].
Jen's website concerning this study is www.parentnurserelationships.wordpress.com