Help and Hope Happen Here

Zach Sobiech was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in the fall of 2009 and passed away in May of 2013, just after his 18th birthday. In today's Pediatric Cancer Podcast, Zach's mother Laura will detail his amazing battle with this disease and his legacy which will live on forever. In the last year of his life, Zach produced and recorded a song called "Clouds" which rose to number 1 on I Tunes and has been viewed 12 million times on You Tube. Laura wrote a book detailing the last years of Zach's life called Fly a Little Higher, (renamed Clouds)  which was the basis of a movie which came out in October of 2020 also named "Clouds" and is available on Disney Plus. 

As the Psychosocial part of Pediatric Cancer becomes more and more relevant , Dr. Anne Kazak will talk about many aspects of this subject which have become standards which need to be met ,as  Pediatric patients survivors and their families try to move past their recoveries and lead lives as free from anxiety driven side effects as possible. 

Dr. Kazak will address the topics of Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms in patients and their  families, Evidence Based Interventions for survivors of pediatric cancer, and the fact that some reports have the percentage of side effects after treatment and after the 5 year so called "cure rate" being as high as 90 percent. 

Dr. Gilles Vassal is involved in many facets of pediatric oncology in Europe and around the world. He is the the Chairman of an internationally based initiative called Accelerate which he started in 2015. Dr. Vassal is also the President of Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer which is an academic consortium , and is a professor at Gustave Rossy, which is considered to be the leading cancer hospital outside of the United States. and one of the 5 leading cancer hospitals in the world. 

Dr. Vassal will share many thoughts about the past and future of Pediatric Cancer in today's Podcast. 

Born and raised in Costa Rica, Gaby Miller saw her younger sister Erica pass away from Ewing's Sarcoma during her time there. Eventually, she moved to the United States, became a Physiotherapist, and has partnered with a cancer based foundation started by Pediatric Cancer patient Alexander Goodwin, to open her own Physical Therapy clinic to work exclusively with patients who are suffering from cancer. 

When Fernando Morales was 15 years old, he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. His mother Esther will talk about Fernando's   3 1/2 year journey in which he fought every way possible to to make the most out of the time he had left, even though he was in pain during a majority of his battle.  His last years included traveling, making sure that he got the most out of his education including a brief 2 month stay at Providence college before becoming too ill to attend , and sticking to his motto which was to have "NO COMPLAINTS" about how he was doing. 

While dancing at the very prestigious Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles when she was 15 years old, Chelsea Wagner felt terrible pain in her left ankle which turned out to be Adamantinoma, a very rare bone cancer which ended her hopes for a dancing career. Faced with some very difficult treatment and its after effects, Chelsea, now 15 years past her diagnosis, is healthy and is working on her next dream as the Associate Director of the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation to help and mentor other pediatric cancer patients. 

Just 2 days after  playing 4 soccer games on a Saturday afternoon in January of 2007 and leading his travel team to a Pennsylvania State Championship,  14 year old Andrew McDonough had a septic shock, was in cardiac arrest, and was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Never being able to even leave the hospital, Andrew passed away just 167 days after his diagnosis.

Andrew's father Joe will talk about how life changed so quickly for Andrew and the McDonough family, and how the B Positive Foundation that Joe founded has kept Andrew's memory alive and done so much to help the cause of Pediatric Cancer. 

Amanda Tallman passed away from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2012. Her mother Lorraine will talk about Amanda's life and her goals to design a unique clothing line to help her peers who were undergoing treatment for cancer. After her passing, Lorraine created the Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels Non Profit, in which COMFY COZY shirts were created for these kids undergoing chemotherapy. 10,000 Pediatric Cancer Patients from around the globe now have the benefit to wear these shirts, which help ease the burden of their chemo treatment. 

Art Therapy has proven to be a very successful activity for Pediatric Cancer patients undergoing treatment for cancer. Tracy Councill will talk about this program which she started back in1991. 30 years later, it has helped thousands of kids look forward to having at least one part of their protocol  be a fun and enjoyable activity to participate in.

This program has now expanded from 1 clinic to 8 clinics in hospitals across the United States and the fact that it is based in Washington D.C. has allowed both Democratic and Republican members of Congress to see how this program works. Each year, members from each party are invited to , and attend a celebration of the success of this program and how it helps these kids in so many ways. . For one night at least, partisan politics are put on the back burner  and this Pediatric Cancer cause is celebrated as it should be. 

Child Life professionals play a critical role in the lives of Pediatric Cancer patients as Bailey Kasten and Kelly Wagner will discuss in today's podcast. Among their many responsibilities, they need to work with the emotional and anxiety issues that patients and their families experience, along with making sure that these children feel safe and comfortable. They also need to be prepared to deal with the most difficult issues of bereavement should they be needed, as they are in close and direct contact with all family members during their child's hospital stay