If transgender youth and adults are undergoing (or planning) gender-affirming surgery, taking masculinizing or feminizing hormones, and they have cancer, these treatments can have implications for their care. Cancer treatments in turn can have implications for their gender-affirming care. Oncologists should take gender identity into account in making decisions about cancer treatment. This starts with … Read more
Watching her deftly maneuver a playground with a huge smile on her face makes it hard to imagine that Anabella Trillo, 3, once faced challenges far greater than a jungle gym. In fact, she has already endured surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and a stem cell transplant for one of the most aggressive pediatric cancers: a malignant … Read more
Aplastic anemia is a rare but serious blood disorder that occurs when the body’s bone marrow cannot produce enough healthy blood cells to function properly. Aplastic anemia can occur in both children and adults. Most cases of aplastic anemia are idiopathic, meaning the underlying cause is unknown. The blood disorder can have inherited (genetic) causes … 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
Wilms tumor is the most common type of pediatric kidney cancer. It is most common in children age five and younger, but it can also occur from infancy to age 15. As with any cancer, the tumor can spread beyond its initial location. What are the causes and symptoms of Wilms tumor? Occasionally, a child … Read more
With the advent of better treatments, more young patients treated for childhood cancers are surviving longer, and many reach the age when they consider starting families.
A common question, answered.
This originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s blog. Adrenoleukodystrophy — depicted in the 1992 movie “Lorenzo’s Oil” — is a genetic disease that most severely affects boys. Caused by a defective gene on the X chromosome, it triggers a build-up of fatty acids that damage the protective myelin sheaths of the brain’s neurons, leading to cognitive … Read more
In their Brookline home-far-away-from-home, 2-year-old Duy Anh “Harry” Le plays with blocks and pop-up toys on the floor with his mother, Thao Nguyen. He is lively and happy, and his skin is clear. He looks almost nothing like the sickly baby covered in eczema who arrived in Boston from his native Vietnam in November 2016 … Read more
Tracy Antonelli was four when she was diagnosed with thalassemia, a rare blood disorder that occurs often enough in Mediterranean countries like Italy that an old adage, uttered only partially in jest, warns Italian-Americans against marrying other Italian-Americans. In 2002, a grown-up Antonelli wed Patrick Mooty, whose background is mostly Irish. Their three daughters – … Read more
Charlotte Kelly hated having her chemotherapy port accessed, but her mother, Patrice, found a way to calm the toddler. Each time tears came, Patrice would rub her nose against Charlotte’s – and the pair would get past their fears together. Today the ritual continues, even though Charlotte’s last neuroblastoma checkup at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and … Read more
As a pediatric dentist, Jay Schwab had a clear-cut enemy: dental disease in children and adolescents, and the apprehensions they faced in the dental environment. Cavities could neither hide from his drill nor fool his X-ray machine, and plaque could easily be scraped away. Generations of patients went away smiling and in good dental health. … Read more
This post originally appeared on Thriving, the Boston Children’s Hospital blog. Anna Protsiou was 5 when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2002. She remembers pain, and fruit-scented anesthesia masks that led her to stop eating cherries. She also remembers hospital arts and crafts projects. What she barely remembers is the pediatric oncologist who saved … Read more
Amy McHugh’s 4-year-old daughter, Emily Coughlin, was a typical kid – playful and inquisitive – until May 2009, when she started complaining of knee pain. After a visit to the pediatrician, and a misdiagnosis of Lyme disease, the family ended up at Boston Children’s Hospital, where they received a devastating diagnosis: Emily had high-risk neuroblastoma, … Read more
When Tim Conners collected his wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2012 at the age of 18, he was blind from childhood leukemia that had spread to his optic nerve. A football player and wrestler who’d never been an outdoorsman, he asked to meet Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb the Seven Summits … Read more
As told to Sue Morris, PsyD As director of Dana-Farber’s Bereavement Program, I regularly sit with bereaved individuals, listen to their stories, and help them navigate their lives after they have been completely turned upside down. I recently spoke with three bereaved parents who are members of Dana-Farber’s Pediatric Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC), … 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
By Sam Ogden It’s a few hours before game time and I’m walking backwards across Fenway Park’s outfield trying to keep ahead of Red Sox all-star Brock Holt. Like most photographers, I am used to this. Sometimes, walking backwards and shooting is the only way to get your shot. Today, the shot is of Brock … 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