He started off the post by asking who would financially benefit from sale of the dolls, a fair question to ask. The intellectual dishonesty then crept in as he lamented the troubles that too much awareness can bring citing the fear women now have of breast cancer. Then he flew off the rails with this gem “Childhood cancer is exceedingly rare.”

First of all, what qualifies as exceedingly rare? Considering that the author has three children I find that statement to be emotionally disconnected at best. On Wikipedia I would have tagged this as [citation needed]. Secondly, thanks for confirming the ACS’s lack of relevance in this area.

So if I read correctly, we don’t need more awareness for childhood cancer because it is “exceedingly rare” what we need are more donations to the ACS, less than 1% of which will go to childhood cancer? Got it.

After an MRI and a biopsy of her tumor, Hannah was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. A few days after Christmas, Hannah had surgery to place her pic line and to remove two nodules from her right lung. The surgery turned out to be more extensive than expected and it involved deflating her lung. Hannah had a difficult recovery from surgery because of the chest tube and a malfunction with her pain medications. Once the chest tube was removed Hannah was doing much better and was able to go home to celebrate New Year’s with her family.

Hannah started chemotherapy on January 5th and did as well as can be expected. The doctors seem to be controlling her nausea well with medication. The combination of medicine she is taking does make her very sleepy. For the most part, Hannah is in good spirits while she is awake and is enjoying her favorite Disney movies and shows.

You can follow Hannah’s journey by visiting her CaringBride website.

The doctors found a large tumor and Charlotte was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. Over the course of two and a half years, she underwent chemotherapy, surgery, and two stem cell transplants.  Recent scans show that nearly every bone in Charlotte’s body is riddled with neuroblastoma. Her counts are too low to have more chemotherapy at this time. Instead, the doctors are going to do MIBG therapy in the hope that they can decrease the amount of disease.

You can visit Charlotte’s CarePages to follow her journey.

Since she was diagnosed, Caitlin has undergone two brain surgeries, two rounds of chemotherapy, and one round of radiation. She began having seizures after her second surgery. Caitlin is completely paralyzed on her right side and has lost most of her ability to see. Over the last few weeks, she has had difficulty swallowing and communicating. Now the nurses are having trouble keeping Caitlin’s oxygen saturation levels high enough. They believe Caitlin is nearing the end of her battle against this cancer.

You can visit Caitlin’s facebook page to leave prayers for Caitlin and her family.

On September 3rd, 2010, Isaiah was not feeling well and he stayed home from school.  His mom, Cheryl Alonso, took him to the doctor. In true Isaiah fashion, he was doing Power Ranger kicks in the office. Cheryl was told that it was just a cough and that Isaiah was probably suffering from allergies. “He’ll be fine,” the doctor said. Hours later, Isaiah ran into his parent’s room and screamed before collapsing on their bedroom floor. Isaiah was rushed to the hospital in a helicopter.

Isaiah’s Aunt, Sue Axelrod, said “When Cheryl called me very late that night; I immediately knew something was very wrong. Isaiah had been without oxygen and, although he received CPR almost immediately, he didn’t regain consciousness and they weren’t sure if he would make it.” Sue dropped what she was doing and jumped in the car to make the six hour drive to Kentucky. “That drive was one of the most difficult rides of my life. About an hour into my trip, I got the devastating news. Isaiah was diagnosed with cancer. They didn’t know what kind of cancer he had at that point, but they did know that he had a huge tumor pressing on his airway. I also learned that they were afraid Isaiah may have suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen. Needless to say, I cried the whole way there. Cancer? Brain damage? How does this happen to a seemingly healthy first grader?”

After many tests, Isaiah was diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoma, which is a type of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Most cases of lymphoblastic lymphoma usually become evident with a mass in the chest and swollen lymph nodes.  Isaiah’s tumor grew very large and very fast. There were no prior symptoms, besides the cough, but Isaiah suffered brain damage as a result of complications from the cancer. Sue, along with Isaiah’s parents, Cheryl and Vinnie, stayed by his side and hoped for a miracle.  Isaiah never regained consciousness and took his last breath a week later, in his mother’s arms. 

Shortly after Isaiah’s untimely, and unexpected, passing his family created the Isaiah Alonso Foundation to help lighten the financial strain on families that are dealing with the same kind of crisis.

Childhood cancers would be more treatable if they were diagnosed earlier. Sadly, many cases are like Isaiah’s where their cancer is misdiagnosed and attributed to a common childhood complaint or behavioral problem. Children frequently have a more advanced stage of cancer when they are diagnosed. About eighty percent of children show that cancer has spread to distant sites in the body.

On August 18th, Hunter was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma. They flew to Philadelphia to seek the opinion of the top Pediatric Ophthalmology specialists. The doctors felt it would be best to remove Hunter’s right eye since there was only a 30% chance that chemotherapy alone would preserve the eye. On August 24th, Hunter underwent surgery. It will take about two weeks to find out if he needs to have any chemotherapy, but the cancer has not spread to his blood or bones. Hunter’s eye will be sewn shut and he will wear a bandage for the first week. After six weeks, he will receive a prosthetic eye.

Hunter has been experiencing quite a bit of pain since his surgery and he does not want to open his good eye. Hunter was released from the hospital and his family returned home last night.

You can visit Hunter’s CaringBridge page to keep up with his journey.

Until July, the doctors and Bo’s parents had put off having scans done because Bo was still healing. The new MRI showed that the areas of concern were the same, if not a little smaller. A lumbar puncture in August showed active cancer cells and a CT scan revealed new nodules in his liver and spine. The Medulloblastoma is spreading through Bo’s little body. His body is not strong enough, at the moment, for any more treatment.

On Friday, Bo is going to Disney World for his Make-A-Wish trip. His family is also having a big party for him when they return from the trip. Visit Bo’s CaringBridge page to keep up with him.

Over the last month, Karrie has been experiencing a lot of pain in different areas throughout her body. She had pain in her leg, ankle, jaw and ear. But the pain in her arm and shoulder was to the point that it was causing her to scream out in pain. After having her pain management team up her doses multiple times, Karrie had a CT. The scan showed lesions in the right and left scapulas, front top of the spinal cord, top of both lungs, and two additional bumps on back of her head. 

Karrie’s doctor said that, with the increase in disease, there is not much that can be done to stop the Neuroblastoma. She recommended pain medication to keep Karrie comfortable and spot radiation.

Visit Karrie’s blog to follow her journey.

Ray and Shannah, Bella’s parents, were told that their daughter would not walk again and would only be with them for a few more months. She underwent a year of chemotherapy and radiation. By March 2008, Bella was running, jumping, and playing. Her scans showed that all of her tumors were gone.

Bella remained in remission until April 2009 when a routine scan showed a tumor in her brain. The surgery to remove the golf ball sized tumor was successful. An MRI and lumbar puncture were both clear following the six hour surgery.  Bella then began four weeks of full brain radiation and chemotherapy. Her MRI and PET scan were all clear in July 2009. Bella was in remission once again.

Since Rhabdomyosarcoma has a tendency to come back, Bella’s parents decided to travel to New York and take part in the clinical trial with the 8H9 antibody.  Bella had a valve inserted into her head and the radioactive 8H9 formula was injected directly into her brain. She was only the third Rhabdo patient to have this treatment.

After two years of being cancer free, the doctors found a new tumor in Bella’s pelvic region in August 2011. The one inch tumor appears to be contained and is in a good location for removal. Bella’s parents are meeting with the doctors to find out when the tumor will be removed and what treatment plan will be best for their daughter.

You can leave words of encouragement on Bella’s facebook page or visit her CaringBridge for updates.

Lisseth underwent six weeks of radiation treatment and 20 weeks of chemotherapy. She also took part in a clinical trial that ended in August 2010. Lisseth’s scans in February 2011 showed that her tumor had grown. In July, she got to enjoy a beach vaction with her family. When Lisseth returned home she had an MRI. The scan showed that her tumor was still progressing. Lisseth’s parents are now looking into treatment options.

You can join Lisseth on facebook, where she has her very own profile.