Help and Hope Happen Here

Colleen Kisel's son Martin was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when he was 7 years old in 1993.  Martin is now 36 years old and has been able to live a very productive life following his cancer battle. Colleen will talk about Martin and how she would give him a toy after each type of cancer procedure that he had to go through.

This gesture led to her deciding that other pediatric cancer patients would love to receive toys as well, which then gave Colleen the idea to start the Pediatric Oncology TREASURE CHEST FOUNDATION, which now has donated toys to children in 64 hospitals in 21 states throughout the country. 

Scott and Pammy Kramer's daughter Maddie was diagnosed with an Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor in her spinal cord just before her 3rd birthday in April of 2017. Scott will talk about their beloved daughter who was only able to live for 8 1/2 months after her diagnosis. As you will hear in this podcast, Maddie was able to continue being as normal a kid as possible, despite everything that she was forced to go through during her cancer treatment.

Scott will also talk about the 2 books that he wrote after Maddie's passing, plus the non profit DANCING WHILE CANCERING that he and Pammy started in Maddie's memory .

Juanita Prada was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was 10 years old in 2003 and relapsed in 2006. She is now a long term pediatric cancer survivor who has gone through many side effects and difficulties as she tries to live her best life possible. Juanita will talk about these side and after effects which have included problems emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually. 

Juanita also will discuss her advocacy group BEHOLD BEGOLD which she describes as a voice for kids with cancer, and an " unstoppable force of positivity, ambition,  and resiliency within you that arises while going through late effects."

Patrick Lacey's son Will was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma when he was 5 months old. When he turned 2, the Lacey family was told that unfortunately Will could not be cured. On today's podcast, Patrick will talk about how he then went to work to make sure that this diagnosis was going to be an incorrect one.

After meeting Dr. Giselle Sholler, who had lost a patient to Neuroblastoma previously and was trying to find a patient that she could cure, the 2 of them and others went to work with Patrick raising money, and Dr. Sholler working on a drug called DFMO which showed promise for Will and many other pediatric cancer patients involved  in the Neuroblastoma fight.

After seeing great success, the company who owned the drug shut Patrick and the doctor out from further purchasing of it, preferring to set up their own clinical trial.  They decided, along with a woman named Meryl Whitmer, to set up their own Pharmaceutical company and in 106 days, they were in business themselves, having given their first patient their drug in early 2015.

The success that they have had has been groundbreaking for Neuroblastoma patients and Patrick's son Will is now a senior in high school and in the process of applying to college. 

After recovering from his Pediatric Cancer Hodgkins disease diagnosis while he was in high school, Jason Nickoloff went on to become a long time board member of the American Cancer Society and in 2015 co founded the C2C relay, which is a road race that takes place between Columbus and Cincinnati Ohio and has raised over $700,000 for the Road to Recovery program.  Jason will talk about all of these things, plus a class he took at Ohio State University, which ultimately led him to do all that he has done to give back to the fight against Cancer.

Stan Robbins began his advocacy work for Pediatric Cancer patients and their families after he volunteered for the first time at an event while working at Bob Evans, a well known restaurant chain in the midwest.  Eventually Stan took over the running of that event and became a passionate and well known advocate for these kids on Capitol Hill and in his home state of Ohio. Stan will talk about  the different ways in which he helps in this Pediatric Cancer fight and when people ask him how he can spend so much time  volunteering for these kids and their families, his answer always is , HOW CAN YOU NOT?

After hearing about Nathaniel, a 4 year old boy who had a traumatic brain injury, Sara-Jane Walsh decided to create a musical video for his family to honor what he had been going through. This video was just the first of many which, along with encouraging parents to tell their stories on line of their children suffering from a myriad of illnesses including many from Pediatric Cancer , eventually became Sara-Jane's HERE'S HOPE PROJECT, which has touched hundreds of families since its inception in 2016. 

Joey Felder will talk about losing his brother and best friend Ben to Rhabdomayosarcoma when he was just 5 years old and when Joey was 7. Now a 1st year Medical Student at Emory University, Joey has many memories of his time with Ben and how his younger brother has always been a true role model for him as he has gone through his childhood, adolescent, and teenage years. As Joey prepares for some type of career involving Pediatrics, he thinks of Ben's all too short life often and how his brother has inspired him to not only go to Medical School, but how to give back to others and help people who need it most.

Susan Ross was an elementary school teacher beginning in the mid 1970's in Ontario,  Canada.  In 2008, she began a second career as a children's author, focusing on putting smiles on the faces of kids ranging in age from 3- 8 years old. One of her books, WILLOW's WONDERFUL WIGS, which of course had a happy story line and ending, focuses on the real problem for kids who lose their hair during their treatments for the many forms of Pediatric Cancer.

Professor Claire Wakefield is one of the leading , if not the leading experts concerning psychosocial issues down in Australia. Professor Wakefield will discuss a wide variety of what she has done to help make advances in this critical area for so many residents both "Down Under" and globally as well. 

Professor Wakefield is considered the most accomplished author in the world when it comes to the subject of childhood cancer survivors in the last decade, as she has helped to publish 235 articles on this obviously critical part of  the pediatric cancer fight.

One of the most important subjects that is often not talked about  but one which Professor Wakefield will highlight, is the role that grandparents play in the family during these children's cancer battles.