Help and Hope Happen Here

Katie Holcomb's brother Ryan was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma  when she was entering her sophomore year in high school. On today's podcast Katie will talk about her brother who went through so much before passing away in 2007, 5 days before Katie turned 21. 
Katie will discuss the difficulties that she had as a sibling during this time period which can be so hard for a brother or sister who have to watch and deal with something so unfortunate.

Also in 2007, Katie's parents Cindy and Gavin started the non profit Ryan's Case For Smiles. This non profit's mission is to make things as easy and comfortable as possible for Pediatric Cancer patients during their inpatient hospital treatment, and is highlighted by the 2.5 million pillowcases which have been made and donated to many thousands of kids throughout health care facilities and hospitals. 

Their motto is to Feel Better To Heal Better

Katie will talk about her role in this non profit which includes her PTSD Initiative and her siblings program, both of which she modeled in certain ways based on her earlier experiences with her beloved brother Ryan.

Before her daughter Dakota was diagnosed with B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was 6 months old in April of 2019,  Shari Ann Almeida had never thought about Pediatric Cancer, which is a very normal situation for mom's and dad's as they begin their parental journey's. 
On today's podcast Shari Ann will talk about how Dakota fought her cancer battle for 2 years before ringing the bell at the Lehigh Valley Riley's Children's Hospital on April 27th of 2021 , which indicated that she had completed her treatment. 
Now 3 years past Dakota's diagnosis, Shari Ann will talk about her life and her perspective on life that has completely changed, and how she is totally committed to not only Dakota's health, but committed to the cause of Pediatric Cancer in every way possible. 

When Madison Quinn was 13 years old and saw a story on social media about a girl who was diagnosed with cancer, she knew she had to do something. That "something" was to start her own non profit STRONG LITTLE SOULS to help children who got a cancer diagnosis, starting with her putting together care packages for them . This non profit has expanded to include granting wishes when possible to help these kids and helping families, including ones in Africa and in the Philippines.

Now 20 years old, Madison is a nursing student at Elms College in Chicopee, Ma. with a goal of becoming a Pediatric Oncologist.  The Pediatric Cancer community will be thankful for that.  She also wants to not only continue her non profit, but to grow it as well. 

In 2018 Tim O'Connell started a non profit to start the process of achieving his dream of building a Vacation Home for Pediatric Cancer Patients and their families to enjoy for one week each year.  This vacation home is called Tommy's Place which was built in Falmouth Massachusetts,  was  named after the famous bartender and founder of the Falmouth Road Race Tommy Leonard , and opened in July of 2021.
This 7000 square foot Disney like home which has everything but rides, has 11 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms and can fit 18 people comfortably for immediate families, extended family members, and friends, to enjoy all the amenities that one can imagine. 

After watching her son Nicholas spend  188 days in the hospital with Acute Myeloid Leukemia,   Asley Haseotes decided to start a non profit to help future Pediatric Cancer patients be able to have some enjoyment during their mostly difficult hospital stays. She and her husband Ari named this non profit ONE MISSION and it is made up of many creative and successful programs which have brought smiles to the faces of these kids. 
This non profit has raised 14.6 million dollars and has helped to support 36,000 kids in hospital settings around the Greater Boston area. 
Her son Nicholas is well past his original diagnosis of over 10 years ago and is thriving as he is in his teenage years.

Dana-Sue and Bill Crews both had siblings who were diagnosed with cancer when they themselves were just 7 years old. They will discuss that, Bill's eventual adult cancer diagnosis in 2003 which was thought to be totally incurable but which saw him 5 years later competing in the Iron Man Triathlon, and his health 19 years later which is fine.

Dana- Sue and Bill will also talk about the 2 books they have published concerning Bill's cancer battle, and their publishing company Bell Asteri- which they started to encourage young authors who have been through pediatric cancer, to share their stories with others. 

Michael Shpigelmacher is the Founder and CEO of Bionaut Labs. On today's Podcast, Michael will talk about an engineered tool which is showing MUCH PROMISE, as it tries to solve what has been the most difficult form of Pediatric Cancer in DIPG.
Michael will talk about what his company has designed which is a Bionaut or a Robot,  the size of a grain of rice, which can get to the exact critical areas inside the brain stem with the proper medicine being attached to it, opening up areas of the brain which have not successfully been treated before. 
The hope is that  this type of Pediatric Brain Cancer, which is now considered a near certain death sentence, will become one that is chronic in nature, and maybe even have a better outcome than that. 
What Bionaut is doing could be a serious game changer in this DIPG fight.

When 3 year old Avery Moskowitz was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor she went into surgery to have it removed. During the surgical procedure, her doctors had to stop the surgery as they found that Avery did not have a Wilms Tumor, but instead had Stage 4 Neuroblastoma.
Thus began a journey that has seen Avery fight her way past so many difficult issues and side effects but there she is now  8 years later, surviving and trying to live the best life that she can. 

Annie Bartosz still considers her brother Jack, who passed away from Neuroblastoma in 2012 to be one of her best friends as he looks down on her from above. Annie will talk about Jack, and her father John who passed away from the late effects of the cancer that he had as a young adult.
Now a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania and hoping to eventually start a career in Pediatric Oncology, Annie will also discuss her role as an advocate for Pediatric Cancer, which began when she was 11 years old. 

Susan Giusto and Dr. Scott Coven will talk about the Pediatric Cancer problem of Delayed Diagnosis on today's podcast. This happens more than it should, as Pediatrician's can take too long to order the proper procedures or tests which ultimately can diagnosis whether a child has cancer.  By waiting too long, this can put the child in a position where their treatment begins much later than it should, causing all types of issues that be detrimental to their recovery.