In Catherine Argyrople’s “Growing Pains,” a scene set on a sunny day at a high school pool party becomes a way to explore how pediatric cancer can affect teenagers in survivorship. The protagonist, a curly-haired highschooler named Zoe wears a bikini for the first time in her life, revealing a scar on her stomach. A … Read more
Results of several phase 3 trials and dozens of other studies led by Dana-Farber researchers were presented online and in person June 3-7 at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s largest clinical cancer research meeting. Some of the research reports presented by Dana-Farber investigators include: Improved progression-free … Read more
Most teenagers can’t wait to grow up. At 19, Sara Almheiri was initially deemed too old — at least by the physicians who first diagnosed her with cancer. Complaining of terrible bellyaches that baffled doctors in her native Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sara had traveled in late 2016 to South Korea, … Read more
Investigators had culled the list of suspects down to two. But which one was the guilty party, or were both? The pair worked together so seamlessly, it was difficult to tell where one’s role began and the other’s ended. In some respects, they even looked alike. Dana-Farber scientists have now teased apart the relationship between … Read more
For decades, retinoic acid has been a key part of the arsenal against the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. For just as long, scientists have wondered exactly how it works. The answer, Dana-Farber researchers have found, is by reprogramming the activity of two crucial pairs of genes with such precision that the drug almost seems to have … Read more
Call it mother’s intuition, but leading up to her daughter’s cancer diagnosis, Erica Jensen knew something wasn’t right. At just 10 months, Charlee had started walking, and since taking her first steps the excited toddler was constantly exploring the world around her. Then, at around 15 months, something changed. It wasn’t obvious at first — … Read more
When Susan Villanueva was just 11 months old, she was diagnosed with cancer. It took her a long time to come to grips with her experience — but more than 50 years later, she is serving as inspiration for patients, survivors, and beyond. In 1969, Villanueva was originally taken to the hospital to address symptoms … Read more
This post originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s science and clinical innovation blog. Children’s cancers pose unique challenges. They’re not caused by the same kinds of genetic mutations that cause adult cancers, and only a minority of their mutations can be targeted with drugs. In a recent study, Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer … Read more
Kids often rely on their parents for inspiration, but for Kevin and Becky McAvoy, it’s their five-year-old daughter Avery who provides the spark. Avery was less than a year old when she was diagnosed with metastatic neuroblastoma, the most common type of cancer in infants. Her cancer contained an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutation. The … Read more
When Jessica Audette looks at her daughter, Samantha, and son, Jacob, she finds herself overwhelmed by feelings of love, pride, and joy. And there’s a reason she refers to them as her “miracle children”—Audette is a neuroblastoma survivor, and it wasn’t always clear that she would be able to have kids. In 1974, a pediatrician … Read more
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that develops in nerve cells. It frequently begins in the adrenal glands; it may also originate in nerve tissue along the spine and show up as masses in the neck, chest, abdomen, or spine. It is the most common cancer in babies and the third most common cancer in children. Ninety … Read more
The first year of a baby’s life is filled with milestones, but between sitting and standing up, holding his bottle, and playing peek-a-boo, there was one thing Landon Cato developed that his parents never anticipated: cancer. Landon was just shy of eight months old in July 2016 when his parents took him to the pediatrician, … Read more
This originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s blog. Cancer and other diseases are now understood to spring from a complex interplay of biological factors rather than any one isolated origin. New research reveals that an equally-nuanced approach to treating high-risk neuroblastoma may be the most effective way to curb tumor growth. One challenge in … Read more
Before he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2014 at the age of 11, Noah Smith was a veteran of the children’s theater stage. The suburban Boston boy had been cast in ensembles. He’d played Kurt Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.” Little did Noah know that he would soon star in a video designed … Read more
Neuroblastoma is a cancerous tumor found in young children and infants, most commonly in children under age 5 and rarely in those older than 10. Approximately 650 children in the United States are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year. What causes neuroblastoma? The cause of neuroblastoma is not certain, but researchers believe it forms from neuroblasts, … Read more
When Emily Coughlin complained of a sore knee in May 2009, doctors initially suspected Lyme disease. After antibiotics failed to relieve the pain, the girl, who was just shy of her fourth birthday, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer that begins in nerve cells outside the brain and usually affects children under 6. Though rare … Read more
Bridgette West sparkled last fall in the “Fight Song” music video created by patients at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. But before the 2-year-old became a social media standout with her dancing, she and her family faced challenges that went far beyond a cancer diagnosis. In the summer of 2015, after struggling for … Read more
Before Nicholas Cleary was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma, his mother, Lisa, and aunt, Nicole, often talked about participating in the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai and had contributed to other Walk teams in the past. So when Nicholas was diagnosed at 22-months old, Nicole and Lisa knew right away they would … Read more
Henry Fenollosa’s problems began before he was born, when he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. His infancy was was spent largely at Dana-Farber’s Jimmy Fund Clinic, where he received treatment for his disease with his family looking on. Today, Henry’s an active seven-year-old, who loves to show off his lacrosse stickhandling abilities and his skill on … Read more