A Research Study On Pediatric Cancer

Cancer is a word which evokes many different images and emotions. Nothing in this world can prepare a person for the utter devastation of finding out someone has been diagnosed with cancer, especially when this person is a child. Over the past twenty five years the amount of research and the survival rate for children suffering with cancer have increased dramatically. Despite these successes, the funding for new research necessary to keep these children alive and healthy is miniscule and too dependent on short term grants. Of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer treatments and research less than a third is contributed to researching pediatric cancer. Given the media focus on adult cancers, research for pediatric cancer is

Specific Purpose: To convince the audience that childhood cancer is more common than believed, and that action should be taken to increase awareness and funding for research.

With this is a copy of my justification report on the subject of funding and support of research in pediatric cancer and assisting poor parents of children suffering from cancer. This statement is a review of my findings from the most recent year of working in X Cancer Specialty Center, and a separate research that other researchers have conducted outside the center. This paper will be useful in justifying the funding of extensive research in pediatric cancer, and the necessity to assist parents of the cancer patients to meet medical costs. I have completed this report at no cost to the organization, and I carried out and completed this research during off hours.

The importance behind this health issue is that major advances in medicine haven’t significantly improved survivor rates nor have medical advances reduced the number of cancer cases per year in children under 18 years of age (Curtin, Minino, Anderson, 2016).“Congressman McCaul is a father of five and knows that every parent’s worst nightmare is their children receiving a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. Growing up, his childhood best friend lost his battle to cancer. It wasn’t fair then and it isn’t fair now. Congressman McCaul founded the Childhood Cancer

Imagine instead of learning how to ride a bike and tie your shoelaces, you were learning how to cope with living at a hospital, painful routine testing, and the uncertainty of tomorrow. This is what childhood looks like for thousands of kids worldwide who are battling cancer and other diseases. Without organizations such as ALSAC (American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities) and St. Jude Children’s Research hospital, many of these children would never get the chance to live. What is so unique about St. Jude is that, according to their annual report (2015), approximately 75% of their funding comes from public contributions. Without the support of its donors, St. Jude would not be where it is today, leading the fight against childhood cancer.

St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center that denies no child. It is a place where families do not have to pay for treatments and services that are not covered by insurance. It helped raise the overall survival rate of pediatric cancer from 20% to more than 70% (GuideStar, n.d.). Some of their goals are to continue to increase the cure rates for pediatric cancer in the United States; to reduce acute and long-term morbidity that are associated with pediatric cancer treatment; to lead the way in the prevention and control of pediatric cancer; and to advance research and treatment of pulmonary infectious diseases and non-malignant hematological diseases (GuideStar, n.d.). St. Jude is also the first National Cancer Institute-designated

The goal of the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation is to help families affected by a case of pediatric cancer by providing them with support services and financial assistance in paying for medical bills. But no amount of blank checks written to university hospitals or an army of volunteers can combat a diagnosis given months late because no one in the family could afford a visit to the pediatrician.

This past summer, I, along with my mother and father, travelled to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. My mom had been invited to participate in the St. Jude For Life Study because when she was around six to eight years old, she had a form of leukemia called Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This particular study is to help all present and future St. Jude patients and help to research for a cure. While there, I saw first-hand how cancer can affect a family. You can just see all of the stress, the worry, the exhaustion, the tiredness, the fear, and the tears on the families’ and the patients’ faces.

Would a person say the number forty-three, out of all the numbers in existence, is small? That person would probably say yes, but what if someone said forty-three children a day are diagnosed with cancer (Duncan, Geoff). With the widespread of cancer, one should try to envision themselves as a pediatric oncologist because of the comfortable environment of the work, the great gain of knowledge and salary, and benefits of healing people.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is one of the most common childhood cancer, but also, one of the most curable. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a blood cancer that affects the white blood cells which causes them to build up in the liver, spleen and lymph nodes. (St. Jude's research hospital) Another case, is about a toddler, named Mark, who wasn’t even two years old, at the time and had developed a slight limp. At first, the doctor’s were not concerned and had told his mother, Rita, that he would get better over time. But, she was not convinced, she was later referred to a specialist, who performed a CT scan. Which, later showed a tumor in Mark’s head. “The family received a referral and arrived at St. Jude in January 2010. At St. Jude, further testing was done and a discovery was made: Mark’s tumor was actually a very rare type of bone cancer, in the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors- not brain cancer as originally believed” (StJude.org) If it wasn’t for St. Jude or the mother then Mark may not have lived and be over five years cancer free. “It’s like a miracle. Everything is given to the family here for free without any expectation,” Rita said…. “I wish every nation in the world would have a St.Jude,” said Rita. “That way, everyone would have a chance” “ (StJude.org). This just shows how much it means to the families and the children. The place that

Out of 100,000 children 32.1 cancer diagnoses occur in the age group 0-14, 138.6 occur in the 15-39 age group, and 2,053.8 occur in 40 and older (cancer.gov). Pediatric cancer, being so rare, makes research and development hard to fund because there are not many eligible participants for each specific trial. This creates a “Catch 22” by having a good societal support system, yet not having enough “return-on-investment” (Milne). Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death in children after accidents, however the amount of deaths has lower drastically in recent years. The mortality rate as a whole has decreased by fifty percent in the last thirty years, however for patients with cancers other than lymphoma or leukemia the mortality rate has not declined since 1996 (Analysis of the National Cancer Institute’s Investment). Lymphoma and leukemia are the most common cancers that children are diagnosed with, but there are many more that can occur that need new research in order to discover ways to decrease the current mortality rate. In 1960 it was discovered that leukemia could be treated by “combination chemotherapy and dose intensity” this brought the curability up from 10% before this discovery to 80% by the 1990s (Norris and Adamson). Although this treatment has been successful for leukemia patients, the most common of childhood cancers, it is not as successful with other types of cancer. There are currently clinical trials that take place to begin trying to find treatments or cure for pediatric cancer, however because of lack of funding many of the trials do not continue or never really take off. Due to the lack of funding and efforts put forth into research for pediatric cancer more the 2,500 children die in America every year (thetruth365.org). Children diagnosed with cancer deserve more work to be put into finding a cure so they can go on to live long, happy

About 10,730 children in the United States under the age of 15 were diagnosed with cancer in 2009 (American

As established in the National Cancer Institute, “Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide for children and adolescents in America, accounting for more than 91,250 children that lose their lives to this disease” (National Cancer Institute). Cancer is not considered a terminal illness, but more of a chronic illness because of the intense treatment that the individual has to endure. As a result of this treatment the chances of survival for children suffering from pediatric cancer has increased around 80 percent. The increment in the survival rate has made it possible for many parents to not have to go through the acceptance that they are about to lose their child to a terminal illness, but have coping strategies that will make them adapt to the fear of the reoccurrence of that illness. This illness has a great impact on the patient as well as the family because not only do they have to adapt to this illness physically, but also mentally. Research has shown that there are both short term and long term effects that come into effect when the child is both in treatment and also years after the treatment. The type of cancers that these adolescents have to endure range from leukemia, brain tumors and other cancerous tumors that have appeared in recent medical studies. These tumors can either be benignant, an acute case that is non-cancerous or malignant, a cancerous case that will need intense treatment over an extended period of time.While many would say there is more of a

When a parent takes their child to the doctor the last thing they want to hear is that their child has cancer. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a child to be diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, also known as ALL. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is one of the most common forms of childhood cancer, and “makes up approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among children under 15 years old” (3). Children under five years of age are at the most risk of developing ALL. Since it is an acute form of cancer once the onset has begun the disease quickly begins to worsen, therefore patients must seek treatment as soon as possible. “ALL is different than other diseases in that it is not just a single disease but also rather a group of related diseases with different subtypes”(1). This uniqueness causes the treatment of ALL to depend on the subtypes the patient has, therefore each

Raising awareness is a step in the right direction to escalating advocacy and support for childhood cancer research (acco.org 1). One nationwide project that brings in the most financial aid for visitors and patients is St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital (StJude.org 1). The mission of St. Jude is "to advance cures and the means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment" (StJude.org 1). That being said, the support "helps ensure that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will continue its lifesaving mission of finding cures and saving children” (StJudes.org 1). Few people realize the dire situation patients and families are in when they are deciding to not