After experiencing blinding headaches in early August of 2021, Shawn Mahoney's 6 year old  daughter Layla was diagnosed with a High Grade Anaplastic Supertentorial Ependymoma, which is a form of Pediatric Brain Cancer. After her initial surgery on August 2nd of last year Layla had to undergo another surgery just 5 weeks later, followed by 33 rounds of proton therapy, followed by another surgery on March 11th of this year, which finally completely removed her tumor. On May 18th, DNA/RNA sequencing showed that there was an 81.82 chance that her cancer would NOT come back and Layla was able to complete her academic year in school. There have been new developments in her case since this podcast was recorded and they will be talked about on my Outtro. 

Jen Caruso is a young woman who is totally dedicated to the cause of Pediatric Cancer. Already having the desire to help others while she was a Girl Scout, Jen started her  SWIRLS AROUND THE WORLD FOUNDATION after her cousin Matthew passed away from Ewings Sarcoma at the age of 19 in 2013.
While a student at Northeastern University, Jen began the Children's Miracle Dance Marathon Chapter and was the Regional Manager for the Love Your Melon Campus Crew. 
Jen is now on the Board Of Directors for the Tommy's Place Vacation home for Pediatric Cancer patients and their families and still has time to hold a full time job as a Physician's Assistant at New York Presbyterian Hospital. 

Misty Hughes was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia just before her 9th birthday. As she recovered from this form of Pediatric Cancer, she decided to establish her main goal in life which was to help and serve others. Misty has accomplished this goal in several ways, whether it was to volunteer at both the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the American Heart Association,  being a fitness trainer , or now 40 years removed from her cancer battle, going to the University of Houston to get her degree in social work. Her goal with this degree at least to some extent is to help families that have to deal with Pediatric Cancer. 

Alexandra Neenan's interest in the cause of Pediatric Cancer began while she was a college student and joined the Lemon Club, which is associated with Alex's Lemonade Stand. This interest led to her receiving her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Michigan University and currently she is pursuing her doctorate there. Alexandra hopes to use the knowledge from the many aspects of Pediatric Cancer that she has researched including activism, advocacy, grief, guilt, and other psychosocial subjects, to make a career out of helping children and their families  have an easier road as they try and get through this most difficult time.

Leia Hunt was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma when she was just 2  1/2 years old. This form of Pediatric Cancer cost her the use of her left eye and she went through many difficulties both physically and emotionally during her early years, adolescent years, and into her teenage years. 
Knowing instinctively that she had to help other kids who were suffering with different forms of Pediatric Cancer, Leia  started her LEIA'S KIDS Non-Profit when she was 18 years old.
Her mission is to directly help kids and their families who need financial support to cover expenses and Leia hosts a "Crowning" Party for those families who qualify for a $1000 check.
Her non-profit now has over 100 kids waiting to be crowned and there will be many more down the road as Leia intends to expand and help as many deserving kids as possible. 

Tyler Trent was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in 2014 after what was thought to be only a broken arm after throwing a frisbee. His parents Kelly and Tony  will talk about Tyler's incredible journey which eventually became known throughout the country due to his connection to the Purdue University Football team.
Attending Purdue while a freshman , Tyler and a friend decided to camp out the night before at the  football stadium before their game with Michigan. What was most unusual about this was that Tyler had just completed a chemotherapy treatment 6 hours before. When head football coach Jeff Brohm got word about what Tyler did, he visited him the next morning.
That began the amazing connection that Tyler developed with the entire Purdue team, especially with starting quarterback David Blough.
In 2018, as Tyler's condition worsened and he was unable to return to school, he still made his presence felt by predicting that his beloved Boilermakers would upset undefeated Ohio State in a Nationally Televised game. Purdue destroyed the Buckeyes 49-20 . Tyler attended the game despite being very sick the week leading up to kickoff, and he was really the star of the night.
Sadly, Tyler passed away less than 3 moths later. His legacy however, will continue for many years to come. 
 

Mandy Spielvogle Powell is the Managing Director and Steve Passagno is the Treasurer of the non-profit  the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer. Mandy and Steve will discuss the many programs that this world wide organization has implemented to make their non profit a major factor in the fight against Pediatric Cancer. 
With their focus being on coming up with less toxic treatments, pediatric cancer awareness and survivorship, research and treatment, and family support, their non profit brings people in from differing backgrounds to collaborate with each other to find the best solutions for these most difficult problems that face pediatric cancer patients and their families.

One of the reasons that Lily Pevoto wanted to attend Penn State University was that she was so impressed with their Dance Marathon known as THON. This event is the largest student run philanthropy in the world. Now approaching its 50th year, this fundraiser has 700 dancers who take to the floor at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College and dance for 46 straight hours. More than 16,000 student volunteers make certain that this event runs as smoothly as possible. Lily is the Executive Director for the upcoming THON to be held in February of 2023, and will talk about this fundraiser which has raised over 200 million dollars for the cause of Pediatric Cancer. 

Lorna Day's son Sam was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2010 and went through an arduous treatment ordeal that included losing his left leg and right foot to amputation. After Sam's very unfortunate passing in 2016, Lorna set out to help other pediatric cancer patients and their families as she set up her Sam Day Foundation in honor and memory of her beloved son.  As its' core principal, this foundation focuses on trying to fund research for the most difficult pediatric cancers including many of the Sarcomas and Brain Cancer.
Nicknamed the "Hope Junkie," Lorna will talk about the many programs that she has initiated through her foundation in the Pacific Northwest, as she strives to accomplish a goal of getting as many people as possible involved  in this Pediatric Cancer fight from that area of the country, and especially in her home state of Oregon. 

Rich Nardiello suffered a hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 55 and fortunately was one of the 4-6 percent of people who survive that condition. After relearning how to speak, swallow, talk, and walk, he went back to work and then at age 60 decided that he wanted to focus his attention on making lives brighter for Pediatric Cancer Patients.
As a result, Rich started his own non profit called PopPops Kustom Kars. For this non-profit Rich designs and builds Custom Coupes and distributes them to pediatric cancer patients. He has now delivered close to 50 of these kustom kars to individuals and also is working on kindness kars, which he has delivered to local hospitals with global hospitals possibly on the horizon.