Cancer and its treatment can result in pain for some patients. While this can be difficult, there are many different ways to treat and manage pain with the help of your care team. “Each person is unique in their pain experiences, and management plans can be tailored to each patient,” says Dan Gorman, NP, a … 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
Holding hands, 3-year-old Teaghan Bresnahan and her mom run the length of the lake-front dock. At the dock’s end, Teaghan lets go – and gleefully leaps into the air to land in the water with a satisfying splash. It may seem a typical summer scene. But for Teaghan, who has been in treatment for acute … Read more
Balloons of various colors are taped in a row across the wall. Twenty yards away, 8-year-old Dylan Berio announces “yellow,” pulls back the string of his bow, then releases – smiling as he hears the “pop.” His arrow successfully pierced the yellow balloon. Archery requires focus and precision – something Dylan has in ample quantities. … 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
By Sara Dickison Taylor On June 2, 2008, my then 5 ½-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). My world would never be the same. My husband and I had an eerie sense that something was very wrong. Emily’s high fevers were not resolving, even after countless days of ibuprofen doses, and her … Read more
When you learn your child has cancer, the natural response is to do anything possible to make them happy. However, it is important to balance this desire to comfort with an understanding of what is in your son or daughter’s best interest. This is especially true when your child with cancer exhibits difficult behaviors. “Even … Read more
Perhaps more than any other childhood cancer, pediatric brain tumor treatment is incredibly complex and takes a team effort to care for a patient. Doctors and researchers are working to not only improve medicines and treatment methods, they are also striving to improve quality of life and long-term side effects for young patients. “The goal … Read more
The first semester of senior year is usually challenging for high school students, but Jake DeCarolis faced an additional hurdle in September 2015 when what he thought was a headache turned out to be a brain tumor. For the next six months, DeCarolis juggled homework and college applications around surgery and chemotherapy at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s … Read more
Childhood cancer is never easy for a family, and pediatric brain tumors can present a particularly difficult set of medical, cognitive, and physical challenges. Patients may face hearing and vision loss, seizures, learning disabilities, and more. Long after the disease is gone, these issues – and related emotional and social struggles – often remain. It … Read more
“Play Lady” is not a major you’ll find at any college, and it’s not a requirement listed in any job description. But it’s the role that Lisa Scherber was born to fulfill. For more than 23 years, Scherber, officially the director of patient and family programs, and her small staff have worked to bring smiles … Read more
On September 24, 2015, in a sixth floor room at Boston Children’s Hospital, 5-year-old Logan Lesselroth pressed the button that started the transfer of his newly harvested blood stem cells to his 3-year-old sister, Gianna. “This,” Gianna told him, “is a gift from your body.” The path to that moment and the stem cell transplant’s … Read more
While the end of active cancer treatment may bring some relief, it can also bring many questions and anxieties for young patients and their families. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode, Lisa Diller, MD, chief medical officer of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, discusses topics around fertility, growth, late effects of treatment, … Read more
Having a child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness is heart-wrenching for all parents, but when the diagnosis itself is uncertain, parents can face excruciatingly difficult decisions. This is what Katie and Josh Stevens of Idaho confronted after their son Riley was diagnosed in October 2012 with the blood disorder aplastic anemia, in which the body’s … Read more
Bigger and pinker each year, the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center’s annual Pig Party was held on March 4, marking the seventh celebration of a beloved tradition on National Pig Day. “The Pig Party was started by a patient more than eight years go, which is what makes the day so spectacular,” says … 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
A year ago, Aimee Fellows couldn’t imagine being back at Boston Children’s Hospital, awaiting the start of another violin concert featuring her daughter. Sophie, now 10 years old, is dressed this time in a frilly white blouse, black skirt and black dress shoes, her first pair of heels, albeit little more than an inch higher … 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
Childhood cancers are very rare; in fact, they make up less than 1 percent of all cancers diagnosed annually. Therefore, there are not any regular screening tests, unless a child has an increased risk due to genetic predisposition. We’re taking a look at some of the common childhood cancer symptoms, and when parents should seek … Read more