Help and Hope Happen Here

Natalie Smith is now healthy as this 21 year old approaches her graduation from Georgetown University. Natalie would like to be a Pediatric Doctor so medical school will be in her future. She is also a very creative writer and please let me know if you would like me to send you a story that she has written , as I was unable to attach it to my show notes. I can be reached at [email protected]. 

Dene is trying to help present and future Pediatric Cancer patients with her Friends For Life  Guild that concentrates on funding research for cancers that are not that well known . She wants to do what she can to help  in the fight to find treatments that are not as toxic as current or past treatments, which will help these patients deal with possible side effects in future years. 

After an 82 month battle with Neuroblastoma, Vickie Buenger's daughter Erin passed away in 2009 when she was 12 years old. Vickie will talk about her daughter who up to the last week before her passing, was still involved in trying to raise money for the disease of Neuroblastoma, and was still trying to live the most productive life possible .
Vickie is now the President of the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer and will speak about her daughter and this organization, which is doing so much to raise awareness for these Pediatric Cancer patients who need so much help.

HELP AND HOPE HAPPEN HERE has been featured by Feedspot  https://blog.feedspot.com/childhood_cancer_podcasts// as one of the top 25 Childhood Cancer Podcasts which is nice to hear. A major reason is that I have been fortunate to interview some very interesting guests with compelling stories to share involving their experiences with Pediatric Cancer.

One of those guests is Mindy Dykes, who will talk about her son Connor's incredible journey which began when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 6 weeks old. Connor went through a 4 1/2 hour surgery in which he was not expected to survive and now, at the age of 14, is the oldest living survivor of a congenital glioblastoma.

In today's Podcast, Mary Beth Collins will talk about her son Joshua's battle with Neuroblastoma, which started just before his 2nd birthday. Now 24 years old and doing well, Joshua went through many side effects because of his treatment, which multiplied during his adolescent years and beyond. Mary Beth will talk about the critical need to focus on Pediatric Cancer Survivorship, as many problems persist for these kids even after the 5 year calendar to be cured has passed. 

Janet Demeter's son Jack passed away from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma  or DIPG just before his 4th birthday in 2012. Janet will talk about Jack and her efforts to get the plight of this disease in the minds of Congress with her DIPG Advocacy group that she started in 2017. Janet will also speak about her worldwide internet radio show entitled Childhood Cancer Talk Radio 

Joe Andruzzi played in the National Football League for 10 years and won 3 Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in the early to mid 2000's. Joe was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Burkitts Lymphoma in 2007. In 2008, Joe and his wife Jen started the Joe Andruzzi Foundation as a way to assist families in need who are going through difficult times with their battle with cancer. 

This Foundation has now helped 30,000 patients in New England, giving  out $7.5 million dollars in grants, many as much as $800.00.  These grants are used to help pay household expenses such as rent, mortages, utilities, cable bills, water bills, gas bills, and other essentials.
Joe and Jen have found a true niche in helping these families afflicted by cancer, 

Dr. Mark Kieran was the Director of Pediatric Neuro Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute from 1997 to 2018, with his primary focus being on pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Kieran will talk about  some of the different types of these tumors and will talk about the differences between pediatric and adult brain tumors. With pediatric brain tumors being the leading cause of childhood cancer deaths, Dr. Kieran will also discuss the progress that is being made in helping to find new treatments and solutions to this very difficult type of pediatric cancer.

The indomitable Mariah Forster Olson was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in June of 1980 when she was a year old. Mariah was proclaimed "cancer free" by her doctors at the age of 8. 

But that was really only the beginning. Now, some 40 years later, Mariah has had 47 surgeries, approximately 100 medical issues, and on a good day, her pain level is a 6 and averages an 8, with 10 being the highest pain level possible. For the past 27 years, Mariah has been in pain every day of her life.

Through it all, Mariah has managed to focus on her goal of trying to help other Pediatric Cancer Patients with her dedicated  work for a number of Pediatric Cancer Foundations and Organizations, including the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer in which she serves as the Survivorship Liaison. 

Mariah is truly one of a kind.

Jan Ross is the Director of the Dana Farber- Jimmy Fund Running Program. In today's Podcast, Jan will talk about the beginnings of this program which was started as the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge in 1990, after a Harvard freshman decided that he wanted to raise money in memory of a friend, also a college freshman, who had passed away from cancer. With the help of his former coach, 1976 Boston Marathon winner Jack Fultz, he ran the marathon and raised $35,000. The Marathon Challenge has now raised $100 million dollars and has been joined by the BAA 5K,  the Falmouth Road Race, the BAA Half Marathon, and the Run Any Race program, and those events combined with the Marathon Challenge, have raised $130 million dollars for the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber.

Vicki and Peter Brown lost their son Mattie to Osteosarcoma at the age of 7. Vicki and Peter talk about Mattie's difficult battle with this disease before his passing, and then talk about the Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation , which they started in his memory.

This foundation is the only National Non Profit  Foundation which is dedicated to Psychosocial Awareness, Advocacy, Support, and Research of Childhood Cancer. As the Brown's have said many times, "It is not just about the medicine"