May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month and You Can Help Kids with Cancer!
May is recognized nationally as Brain Tumor Awareness Month (BTAM) each year. It is a time to raise awareness of the devastating impact of a brain tumor diagnosis, on the individual, family, and larger community. Brain cancer accounts for about 15% of pediatric cancers. Brain and CNS tumors are the second most common type of…
A Note of Encouragement from a Cancer Mom
A Note of Encouragement from a Cancer Mom Written by Sarah Mersdorf-Foreman, Levi’s mom The other day, I took on the task of cleaning out the hallway medicine/medical supply closet (aka the family-owned pharmacy). This froze me. This is the type of needle that was used weekly to access Levi’s port for his…
Using engineered immune cells to treat DIPG, a devastating brain tumor in kids
Using engineered immune cells to treat DIPG, a devastating brain tumor in kids Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), also known as diffuse midline glioma, is a devastating type of pediatric brain cancer. The tumor is very aggressive and located deep within the brain, making it difficult to treat. The majority of DIPG tumors are caused…
Just $16 in their bank account
November 6, 2020 I received an urgent message this week about a family whose child was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and needs help with their bills: A young couple and their son Alexander moved to Colorado in July after Alexander’s grandma had a massive heart attack. The family used all their savings to…
Creating New Treatments for Kids with Craniopharyngioma
Craniopharyngioma is a type of pediatric brain tumor that typically affects kids under the age of 14 (although it also affects adults between 40-75 years). This tumor is unique in that it usually contains both solid and cyst-like components. Craniopharyngioma most often occurs at the base of the brain behind the eyes near the pituitary…
Ivy was diagnosed with high-risk cancer when she was just a year old. Today she celebrates her 5th birthday!
No one — NO ONE — ever thinks cancer could be the culprit behind the backaches of their one-year-old daughter. The possible explanations are far-ranging, but cancer is just not supposed to be among them. Until it is. Ivy became one of the 43 kids diagnosed with cancer on October 13, 2017, when her backaches…
Levi had to leave home for cancer treatment. Today, he’s healthy and home with his family.
Levi was two months into Kindergarten when he started throwing up 1 to 2 times a week. His pediatrician said Levi had the flu, but later that month, Levi’s left eye started to cross. Levi’s mom felt that the throwing up and eye-crossing were related and asked her friend, an optometrist, to take a look…
Morgan had a 5% chance of survival when she was 15. She turns 31 this November.
Morgan had a 5% chance of survival after being diagnosed with cancer when she was a junior in high school. An experimental treatment saved her life. Morgan was 15 years old when a mass the size of a softball was found low in her pelvic cavity. Here’s what Morgan has to say about her cancer…
Moving personalized medicine forward for every child with cancer, at Children’s Hospital Colorado and beyond
Lia Gore, PhD Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Children’s Hospital Colorado Dr. Lia Gore is the Section Head for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Hospital Colorado. In addition to her role as the Section Head of Hematology / Oncology / BMT-Cell Therapy at Children’s Colorado, Dr. Gore is also the…
The evolution of genetic sequencing: from “chips” to RNA sequencing and single-cell analysis
Andrew Donson, Senior Research Associate The Morgan Adams Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus & Children’s Hospital Colorado Andy Donson has been an integral member of the research team since the lab first opened its doors more than 25 years ago. “I was a biochemistry major in…
