Childhood Cancer Talk Radio Podcasts

From Denver Colorado we bring to you Jill and Cam Morin, who established in their son Luke’s honor a fund for DIPG Research at Children’s Hospital Colorado raising over $230,000 at 22% of their goal. They are gearing up for the Goddard Cares Fall Fest 5k in honor of Luke Morin; sadly, Luke passed away in 2018 just 17 days past diagnosis, of the deadly DIPG, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. Dr. Ra...

DIPG Advocacy Group Founders Paul Miller of Littleton, CO and Elizabeth Psar of Knoxville, TN come together with host Janet Demeter to discuss progress made in their advocacy for families around the US affected by DIPG pediatric brain cancer, on their most recent trip in September 2019. Hear about the Hearing Request for Jace Ward and H. Res. 114, and the next steps for DIPG Advocacy Group in rais...

On Friday, Sept. 20 this new bill, H. R. 4429, the Fairness to Kids with Cancer Act of 2019, was introduced to the House of Representatives by Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania's 1st District. Two years prior the Congressman had attended a gala hosted by Storm the Heavens Foundation in Philadelphia, PA, with Executive Director Mina Carroll. He was strongly affected by the eloquence of Mina's speec...

Thursday, Sept. 26 show features interviews with key individuals with important information about CureFest, the rise of childhood cancer awareness, and issues facing childhood cancer families today. The episode marks the passing of the 10th Anniversary of the Childhood Cancer Caucus Summit, to which Congresswoman and Co-Chairman Jackie Speier (CA-14) shares her experience; Donna Speckard, producer...

Al Gustafson is back! The Swifty Foundation was created to celebrate the life of Michael Gustafson who died in 2013 at the age of 15 from brain cancer. Prior to Michael’s death, his parents decided to use the money they would have invested in Michael’s life, for education, support, and inheritance, and start a foundation. Michael was charged with choosing the mission and name. The focus of today’s...

The title of our podcast is a loving tribute to our guest's son Zach's spirited and inspirational fight against Acute Myeloid Leukemia. From TARGET Pediatric AML to the new Children's Initiative with Leukemia Lymphoma Society, this literal AML dynamic duo, Julie Guillot, patient advocate, and Michael Copley, national chairman of the Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation -- Beat AML campaign, have cre...

Philip Manduca, a financier residing in London, UK, serves as treatment advisor with the DIPG Treatment Advisory Council, and has been instrumental to the development of the new, international treatment program for pediatric brain cancer at Zurich Children's Hospital in Switzerland. The program offers personalized treatments and multi-modality developments in the latest research in pediatric neuro...

The Hood-to-Coast Relay 2019 quickly approaches (August 23-24) and for this special event we are hearing from the MaxCure Foundation Team and beneficiary, the Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI). Jonathan Agin, Executive Director of the MaxCure Foundation joins us in the first segment, giving background to the childhood cancer awareness movement and the urgent need for greater...

Larry Perfetti, President of Kier's Kidz, a 501(c)3 charitable organization in Highland Park, NJ, dedicated to helping children with cancer and their families and supporting childhood cancer research, joins us along with Caroline Kratka, Genetics major at Rutger's University Honors College, who serves on Kier's Kids Advisory Board and shares about youth engagement and advocacy with the foundation....

How did we get here, with a medical research system teaming with money and activity, but so few solutions and options for deadly cancers, especially pediatric cancers? Randy HInton, of Cross Hill South Carolina, is a childhood cancer advocate and father to Hayley who died of DIPG in 2006, diagnosed in 2005 at just 5 years of age. He brings us an in depth report of the early years of the AMA, drug...

Following the death of his daughter Shayla in 2009 from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Tom dedicated his entire life to providing non-medical support to children with cancer and their families. He’s also committed to raising awareness of the need for more research funding and safer, less toxic treatments for children with cancer. An extreme runner, he completed a 200 mile run at Lake Tahoe in 2015, and has be...

Our show features a window into the experience of a father, Mark Hyde, who literally chose to go to the ends of the earth for his daughter, honoring her life with a journey to the north pole. While she was fighting rhabdomyosarcoma, Juliet went with her dad, sister, and mom on quick, day-trip excursions into the beautiful German countryside, as time and hospital proximity would permit. Mark had be...

Sandra Brown joins us on Childhood Cancer Talk Radio from Dillon, South Carolina to share the story of her beautiful, 10 year old granddaughter who is fighting brain cancer like a champion. Involved in an ongoing clinical trial for DIPG, Kendal was an honor student this past year, and is an All-Star softball player. Not only do we hear from her grandmother, but we are fortunate to hear from Kendal...

May 2019 has witnessed important advances in pediatric brain cancer awareness, advocacy, and the fulfillment of a life-time dream by a dedicated brother and his friends for Kayne Finley of Ormond Beach FL, deceased 18 months ago to DIPG. DIPG is the second most common but deadliest pediatric brain cancer, and has been instrumental, for all of its horror, to raising awareness to the urgent needs of...

Cynthia Martucci and Angelina Shao begin internships at cc-TDI, Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute as undergraduates for the summer of 2019, and we learn about their projects, mentorships, and what it is like to work as a scientist in a progressive biotech lab devoted to pediatric cancer research. Cynthia Martucci just finished her Freshman year and is assisting with the DIPG Tumor Ce...

A recent graduate of Syracuse University's School of Photo-Journalism, Moriah Ratner tells the story of the lovely Lola Munoz, a thirteen year old girl afflicted with the deadliest pediatric cancer, DIPG, published within the last year, is truly a work of distinction. Moriah shares with us the process of discovery in this work, as it began simply as the protocol for a class she was involved in--to...

Chance Mazzell and his wife Heather share with us the story of their daughter Olivia and the places DIPG, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, has led them. Olivia was diagnosed with DIPG on August 28th of 2018; her journey was particularly difficult out of the gate. The Mazzells, from Lexington, South Carolina, are extremely brave to give us this insight into their lives at a most difficult time. Sa...

Sara’s Cure is a grassroots, race-against-time campaign focused on funding critical research to find a cure for Clear Cell Sarcoma. Lissett Bickford, now with Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute, a non-profit biotech company in Beaverton Oregon dedicated to eradicating childhood cancer, earned her PhD in Bioengineering at Rice University in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center...

According the the Genomics Institute, 84% of dog DNA has human counterparts, so we suffer many of the same diseases, including most cancers. Dogs have a higher incidence of certain tumors which are considered rare in children. By studying these tumor types in dogs, we can learn a great deal about these devastating cancers, while also helping canines to beat their cancers. Our first guest is Dr. Be...

Denver CO--Morgan Adams Foundation co-founder Joan Slaughter joins us to share this organizations 20 year history of advancing the clinical trial process for pediatric cancer in the medical research system. Her daughter Morgan had been diagnosed at 5 years old with GBM in 1997, surviving 11 months past the diagnosis before succumbing to the deadly disease. The Morgan Adams Foundation funds researc...

After months of frustrating ER visits for high fevers, Adelaide 'Addie' was diagnosed in November 2015 with Hepatoblastoma, a rare pediatric liver cancer; it was just four days before her 2nd birthday. Addie fought a fast-spreading disease with grace; she shared her contagious smile and joyous spirit with everyone she met, even during the most difficult treatments. Her parents, Christina and Cody...

From a State Tax Measure bringing needed funds to pediatric cancer research, to leading in the country-wide movement for a DIPG Awareness Day, Pennsylvania is leading in authentic grassroots advocacy for children with cancer and their families. Bill Kohler is a highly respected and decorated veteran of the Iraq war, father, and now Executive Director of 4AydenStrong Foundation. He shares the story...

Barbara Saltzman joins us from Palos Verdes CA, home of The Jester & Pharley™ Phund, the charity that grew out of her late son David’s best-selling children’s book, "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle." David created The Jester as his senior project at Yale before his death from cancer in 1990 at 22. David's book has been making a difference in thousands of children’s lives for 23 years. Founded in th...

The second edition of Childhood Cancer Talk Radio's Research Series with Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute features an osteosarcoma research project directed by Jin-ah Kim PhD. Originally from South Korea, Kim describes her education experience, vocational direction to cancer research, and the unique challenges and goals for the project. The second half of the show features the inspi...

Steven Healey shares the inspiration behind the foundation, his beautiful, forever-5 year old daughter Brooke who's life lasted just eight months post diagnosis of DIPG, a deadly pediatric brain cancer. Healey describes the harrowing experience as a parent, but also about a new-found community of families dedicated to funding research for the devastating disease, the DIPG Collaborative. The import...