Help and Hope Happen Here

As the Housing Director of the Ronald McDonald House in Albany New York, Debbie Ross has greeted more than 20,000 families as they begin their stay at this home away from home while their children receive treatment at the Millie Duker Children's Hospital at Albany Medical. Debbie will talk about her career which has lasted over 40 years , making her  the longest serving housing director of this "House That Love Built". When Debbie began her career in 1982, 35 Ronald McDonald houses had been built and now there are 381 of these, spread out over 45 countries. 

After John and Shannon Sorensen noticed that their son Gabe's eyes were pointing inward, they took him to an Opthamologist and shortly thereafter he was at St, Jude Children's Research Hospital after he was diagnosed with the very rare Pediatric Brain Cancer Pineal Parenchymal Tumor Of Intermediate Differentation. John and Shannon will talk about their son's ordeal which began in January of 2021 and how he is doing now on today's podcast.

They will also talk about some of the Psycho-Social issues that have affected their family, which includes two older sons.  

Keith and Brooke Desserich's daughter Elena passed away from DIPG after a less than 9 month fight against a Pediatric Brain cancer which has no long term survivor's. Keith will talk about Elena and her fight and THE CURE STARTS NOW Foundation which he and Brooke founded in 2007. This foundation has a mission to cure ALL Cancers and he pledges to stay with the foundation until his goal of ending Pediatric Cancer is completed. Keith has been at the forefront of research and commitment to trying to end DIPG for the past 15 years, which he and others believe is a key to accomplishing what he calls the Home Run Cure. 

Megan Fonte's son Jake was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia just before his 3rd birthday in March of 2004 and passed away in January of 2008, after a final relapse on Halloween in 2007 at the age of 6. Megan will talk about her beloved son and will also talk about the online grief group that she organized for parents who have also lost a child to cancer. This group is called PARENTS WHO HAVE LOST CHILDREN TO CANCER and now has over 1600 members who can relate and find comfort in talking to other parents who have suffered the same devastating blow. 

As the Executive Director of the Children's Oncology Camping Association, Jennifer Amundsen oversees 122 summer camps for children battling with some form of Pediatric Cancer. This translates into about 30,000 campers each summer spread out over the United States and Canada. Jennifer will talk about her role overseeing these camps and Ryan Campbell will talk about Happiness is Camping.  Ryan is a 3rd generation director of this camp which was started by his grandfather in 1982. Ryan is in charge of approximately 250 kids for a 4 week time period each summer and will talk about the life changing experience that these Pediatric Cancer fighters are able to enjoy each July.

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation has designed a novel approach in trying to help patients who have a myriad of illnesses and diseases , including Pediatric Cancer.  On today's podcast Dr. Lauren Powlovich who is the Associate Medical Director of the Foundation will talk about the highlights of what they do, including their most important approach which is to use non invasive technology. As they work on a number of Pediatric Cancers , they also hope to use less and less chemotherapy and radiation, which will help Pediatric Cancer survivors to have less trouble with the side effects that almost all of these kids have to deal with later in life. 

Jenny Olson's son Will was born 2 months early in January of 2008 and spent his first 61 days in a Newborn ICU Unit. 2 years later, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hepatoblastoma and went through a nine month treatment protocol. Will is now 15 years old, as he has been cancer free for over 12 years.  During Will's battle, Jenny decided to pursue a career in public speaking and becoming an advocate for pediatric cancer patients and their families, and she will tall about the many lessons that she has learned over the years. 

Lauren Hill began to experience dizziness while practicing with her High School Basketball team before her senior season began in 2013. Shortly thereafter, Lauren was diagnosed with DIPG. On today's podcast, her mother Lisa will talk about Lauren's amazing journey which saw Lauren continuing to play during her senior season. Already accepted to attend Mt. St. Joseph's college and play basketball there, Lauren was determined to both go to school and play. . As her conditioned worsened in the fall of 2014, Lauren stated that her goal was to make one basket for her team during her freshman season. 

Her hopes came to fruition on November 2nd of that year, as the NCAA moved up their game against Hiram College 2 weeks and the game was moved to Xavier University as Lauren's story went viral. Xavier's arena held 10,200 people and all of the tickets were sold within an hour.

17 seconds into the game, Lauren took a pass , shot a layup, and it went in, electrifying both the crowd and the world. Lauren passed away on April 10th of 2015, but not before she developed a legacy that will last forever.

Lisa will detail Lauren's journey eloquently, and talk about some of the 51 awards she won, both during her life and in the years after it.

Lauren Hill began to experience dizziness while practicing with her high school basketball team as a senior in 2013. Shortly thereafter Lauren was diagnosed with DIPG. Already accepted to play basketball at Mt. St. Josephs college in Cincinnati, Lauren somehow played her senior season and began her freshman year in college. As her condition worsened, Lauren stated that her goal was to make one basket in her college career. On November 2nd of that year, after the NCAA moved her game with Hiram College up two weeks and the game was moved to Xavier University whose arena held 10,200 people and sold out all of the tickets in one hour, Lauren made her dream come true by making a layup with 17 seconds gone in the game. 

What Lauren accomplished electrified the world and she received an ESPY award and had her picture on a box of Wheaties among the 51 awards she eventually won. 

Her mother Lisa will detail the amazing life of her daughter, who effected and inspired so many people with the way she dealt with the worst of all of the Pediatric Brain Cancers.  Lauren passed away on April 10th of 2015, leaving a legacy that will live on forever. 

Steve Wosahla has spent many years working in major positions in the Health Care industry and since 2020 he has been the CEO of the Non-Profit Children's Cancer Cause. Steve will talk about the policies and legislation that this organization has worked on with various facets of the government to help insure improvements in the lives of Pediatric Cancer patients and their families, and will also talk about more improvements coming in the years ahead.