There are many things we can do to help support children with cancer. Childhood cancer remains the number one disease killer in children. Before the age of 20, 330 people will develop cancer. So what are some things we can do to help these children?

Childhood Cancer – How to Help

One of the easiest things we can do is give a donation. Get some friends together and put on a fund raising event.

Become a volunteer. There are many organizations that help and care for children with cancer and they are always in need of a volunteer.

If you have long hair, you can donate it so that wigs can be made. And prayer always helps.

Childhood cancer victims need your help and support. Go out and spread some love today.

My New Year’s resolution is to stick to a good workout plan that will keep me healthy and happy. – James Lafferty

The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us. -Ashley Montagu

Childhood Cancer Survivors Need Healthy Habits

Photo by theilr

Once childhood cancer patients have been declared cancer-free, most are not completely out of the woods. More than 60 percent of childhood cancer survivors experience late effects of cancer treatment resulting in chronic conditions. The New England Journal of Medicine says nearly half of all late effects are severe, life threatening or disabling.

The importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle after treatment, including getting enough sleep, eating well and exercising, can’t be underestimated.

Here are some things to be aware of to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce late effects as survivors transition into adulthood:

* health education about exercise, diet, smoking, sun, seat belts, texting while driving, safe sex, etc.,

* reproductive counseling,

* psychosocial support,

* education about disease history, and

* discussion of risks associated with treatment.

Survivors should also utilize resources like The National Children’s Cancer Society’s Beyond the Cure survivorship program (www.beyondthecure.org), which offers the most up-to-date information available on survivorship. Source.

A healthy lifestyle is very important for childhood cancer survivors. It is also important not to take any unnecessary risks like smoking, not eating healthy, or taking drugs. Some of the risks can’t be controlled like family history. Exercise and sleep seem to be two of the most important aspects of life after cancer.Survivors of childhood cancer need to build healthy eating, exercise, and sleeping habits in order to keep other diseases at bay later in life.

The most important thing is to be informed. Be sure to go to regular doctor visits and get all the information you can about healthy living habits for cancer survivors and late effects of cancer treatments.

When you are young and healthy, it never occurs to you that in a single second your whole life could change. – Annette Funicello

Broccoli vs. Childhood Leukemia

Eat more broccoli

What the researchers found was that concentrated sulforaphane has the ability to enter human ALL cells, interact with specific proteins, and kill the cancer cells through several different means. Healthy cells, however, are not affected by the broccoli compound.

So does this mean children with ALL will soon be prescribed lots of broccoli? According to Dr. Daniel Lacorazza, assistant professor of pathology and immunology and one of the study’s investigators, “while eating cruciferous vegetables is good for you, it will not have the same effect as what we saw in the lab,” as the scientists used a concentrated, purified form of the broccoli compound.

However, this study is important because it is the first one to show that sulforaphane has the ability to cause the death of leukemia cells via cell suicide (apoptosis), altering the cell cycle, and inhibiting a specific pathway. Thus broccoli may have a role in the fight against childhood leukemia. Read more.

Broccoli is full of antioxidants and other good stuff. I used to hate broccoli, but now I try to eat it all the time. My wife loves it. Most kids may not care for broccoli, but try to get them to eat it along with other colorful fruits and vegetables.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”― Albert Einstein

Many people want to help children with cancer but don’t really know how. How about a fundraiser? We’re not talking about just any fundraiser but a bake sale fundraiser. Gretta Witt describes how she decided to help. Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer among children.

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 As a team member of Children’s Cancer Fund of America, I get asked this question often. People care about children with cancer and want to help. Many cannot help by donating so fundraising is a great way to support your favorite cancer organization. It seems to get the community more involved and is a great way to promote childhood cancer awareness.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ― Dr. Seuss

Last Saturday was the fourth annual Atlanta Santa Speedo Run. There were 300 runners that turned out to run for the event. It’s a great fund raiser for childhood cancer and fun to boot.

Santa Supports Childhood Cancer

Santa Speedo Run in Atlanta

Event organizers expected to raise approximately $80,000 for CURE Childhood Cancer, a nonprofit dedicated to conquering childhood cancer through research, education and support.

Runners were required to wear a Speedo or similar attire and encouraged to accessorize with holiday themed flair such as Santa hats, beards, stockings and other festive accents.

The Atlanta Santa Speedo Run has raised thousands of dollars for local charities over the years, as past recipients have included: Bert’s Big Adventure, Camp Twin Lakes and CHRIS Kids.

The Santa Speedo Run was originally started in Boston in 2000 by five friends in search of a little holiday fun. Read more.

Many different fund raising events are held during the holidays. I love seeing what gimmick they come up with.

These types of events raise a lot of money for childhood cancer research. Let’s all go out this year and support a cause. The Children’s Cancer Fund of America is a great cause to support. We try to help some financially and have recently started helping by sending out products. There are many great causes out there to support. So this season, pick a charity and give.

A bully is playing a game, one that he or she enjoys and needs. You’re welcome to play this game if it makes you happy, but for most people, it will make you miserable. – Seth Godin

A lot of kids are bullied in school as well as online. Bullying should not be tolerated, but bullying someone that has or has had cancer is down right despicable. I mean how troubled must a bully be to pick on a cancer patient or recovered cancer patient? It just sickens me because I was bullied a bit in school so I know what goes on. The bad part is that there is no punishment for act. It is usually a case of someone’s word against another. But the hard fact is that childhood cancer bullying does happen.

Childhood Cancer Bullies

Bullies are picking on kids that have or had cancer.

The report, based on a survey and interviews with children with cancer and parents, looked at the impact of the disease on youngsters’ primary education.

The findings show that more than a third (35%) of parents said their child had been bullied or teased when they returned to school because of their cancer diagnosis, or the effects of treatment, such as losing their hair or gaining weight due to steroids.

The report, published to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, found that almost than half of parents (47%) said their child had grown apart from their friends. The same proportion said their child’s school did not help to maintain contact with classmates and friends while their son or daughter was off.

Around 15% of parents said their child felt different from their classmates and 13% said their youngster felt isolated and excluded. The study also reveals concerns about the level of education children receive while receiving treatment, and the help they get when they return to school. Source.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” ― Dr. Seuss

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it affects the whole family and extended family. Ewing’s sarcoma is diagnosed an average of 225 times each year in the US. It’s a cancer in the bone or soft tissue. A new study shows that there may be new treatments for childhood cancer.

Possible new treatment for childhood cancer

New treatments for childhood cancer.

Discovery of a new drug and the previously unknown mechanism behind it has led researchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute to believe turning off specific genes could combat the pediatric cancer, which is the second-most common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents, with diagnosis between the ages of 10 and 20.

Lessnick and his colleagues found that an enzyme, called lysine specific demethylase (LSD-1), interacts with EWS/FLI to turn off gene expression in Ewing’s sarcoma. By turning off specific genes, the complex causes Ewing’s sarcoma development.

Dr. Sunil Sharma, director of Huntsman’s Center for Investigational Therapeutics, had already focused on LSD-1 as a possible target for new cancer treatments and had been working for several years to design drugs that would inhibit its actions.

He said the enzyme was important “for regulation of a variety of properties in several different cancers, including acute leukemias, breast and prostate cancers.”

The two researchers teamed up to test Ewing’s sarcoma tissue cultures, which proved beneficial. They are now working together in animal testing, aiming at future human trials. Source.

Any news about cancer treatments is exciting. As scientists move forward hope builds for those affected with cancer.

Collaboration between the therapeutics and basic science programs can lead to new treatments for patients. Treatment options for Ewing’s sarcoma include surgery to remove the tumor, chemotherapy, radiation and ultimate amputation of the affected arm or leg. I’m sure it won’t be long before they come out with an even newer and better treatment for childhood cancers.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” ― Oscar Wilde

It’s another head shaving event, but this time it’s with the Colts cheerleaders. After they found out that their coach was diagnosed with leukemia, a couple of the cheerleaders decided to raise money by shaving their heads. Leukemia is normally thought of as a childhood cancer, but it does show up in adults.

Colts Cheerleaders Shave Heads

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ― C.S. Lewis

Childhood cancer takes the lives of more children in the U.S. than any other disease – in fact, more than many other childhood diseases combined. Research over the last 40 years has raised the overall cure rate from basically zero to about 80%, many types of childhood cancer remain very difficult to cure. An amazing breakthrough for childhood cancer has come to light. Researchers  have developed a nanoparticle that will enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy on aggressive childhood cancers. This is the first time something like this has been developed, and it is very exciting.

Amazing breakthrough for childhood cancer

Exciting treatments for childhood cancers.
Photo by radswiki.net

 

Neuroblastoma is a cancer that often leaves survivors with lingering health problems because of the high doses of chemotherapy required for treatment. Anything that can reduce these doses is considered an important development.

The researchers developed a non-toxic nanoparticle that can deliver and release nitric oxide to specific cancer cells in the body.

When the chemo drug was injected into the neuroblastoma cells that had been pre-treated with the new nitric oxide nanoparticle, only a fifth of the usual dose was required, said co-author Dr Cyrille Boyer from the school of chemical engineering at the university.

“By increasing the effectiveness of these chemotherapy drugs by a factor of five, we can significantly decrease the detrimental side-effects to healthy cells and surrounding tissue,” Boyer said. Read more.

Treatments for childhood cancers are based mainly on the type and stage (extent) of the cancer. Treatment options may include  surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or other types of treatment. This new treatment boosts the stability or shelf life from two days to more than two weeks. This also significantly decreases the damage to the healthy cells surrounding the cancer. Sure more tests need to be done, but the implication of such a treatment are tremendous. Aggressive childhood cancers can be devastating, but with new treatments being developed, we may yet have a chance to get rid of childhood cancers all together.