Help and Hope Happen Here

Anna Day will talk about her sister Isabella who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma in 2012 when she was 9 months old.  Anna was 9 years old at the time and 3 years later she decided to hold a bake sale to raise money and honor Isabella. Her first bake sale raised $2000 and with help from her mother, aunt, and other family members, she turned this bake sale into an annual event, which raised...

After experiencing blinding headaches in early August of 2021, Shawn Mahoney's 6 year old  daughter Layla was diagnosed with a High Grade Anaplastic Supertentorial Ependymoma, which is a form of Pediatric Brain Cancer. After her initial surgery on August 2nd of last year Layla had to undergo another surgery just 5 weeks later, followed by 33 rounds of proton therapy, followed by another surge...

Jen Caruso is a young woman who is totally dedicated to the cause of Pediatric Cancer. Already having the desire to help others while she was a Girl Scout, Jen started her  SWIRLS AROUND THE WORLD FOUNDATION after her cousin Matthew passed away from Ewings Sarcoma at the age of 19 in 2013. While a student at Northeastern University, Jen began the Children's Miracle Dance Marathon Chapter and...

Misty Hughes was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia just before her 9th birthday. As she recovered from this form of Pediatric Cancer, she decided to establish her main goal in life which was to help and serve others. Misty has accomplished this goal in several ways, whether it was to volunteer at both the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the American Heart Association,  being a fitness...

Alexandra Neenan's interest in the cause of Pediatric Cancer began while she was a college student and joined the Lemon Club, which is associated with Alex's Lemonade Stand. This interest led to her receiving her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Michigan University and currently she is pursuing her doctorate there. Alexandra hopes to use the knowledge from the man...

Leia Hunt was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma when she was just 2  1/2 years old. This form of Pediatric Cancer cost her the use of her left eye and she went through many difficulties both physically and emotionally during her early years, adolescent years, and into her teenage years.  Knowing instinctively that she had to help other kids who were suffering with different forms of Pediatric Cancer,...

Tyler Trent was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in 2014 after what was thought to be only a broken arm after throwing a frisbee. His parents Kelly and Tony  will talk about Tyler's incredible journey which eventually became known throughout the country due to his connection to the Purdue University Football team. Attending Purdue while a freshman , Tyler and a friend decided to camp out the night...

Mandy Spielvogle Powell is the Managing Director and Steve Passagno is the Treasurer of the non-profit  the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer. Mandy and Steve will discuss the many programs that this world wide organization has implemented to make their non profit a major factor in the fight against Pediatric Cancer.  With their focus being on coming up with less toxic treatments, pediatric cance...

One of the reasons that Lily Pevoto wanted to attend Penn State University was that she was so impressed with their Dance Marathon known as THON. This event is the largest student run philanthropy in the world. Now approaching its 50th year, this fundraiser has 700 dancers who take to the floor at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College and dance for 46 straight hours. More than 16,000 student vo...

Lorna Day's son Sam was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2010 and went through an arduous treatment ordeal that included losing his left leg and right foot to amputation. After Sam's very unfortunate passing in 2016, Lorna set out to help other pediatric cancer patients and their families as she set up her Sam Day Foundation in honor and memory of her beloved son.  As its' cor...

Rich Nardiello suffered a hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 55 and fortunately was one of the 4-6 percent of people who survive that condition. After relearning how to speak, swallow, talk, and walk, he went back to work and then at age 60 decided that he wanted to focus his attention on making lives brighter for Pediatric Cancer Patients. As a result, Rich started his own non profit called PopPops...

In 1988  iconic actor Paul Newman started the Hole in The Wall Gang Camp to help kids who were suffering from both pediatric cancer and other illnesses to be able to have fun and "Raise A Little Hell" for one week each summer. On today's podcast Jimmy Canton, who has been with the camp since its inception and has been its CEO for the past 20 years, will talk about how this week away...

While home during college break Kylee McGrane watched the movie Frozen. As she saw  the Princess Elsa, and also thought about how Taylor Swift  did so much for Pediatric Cancer patients , Kylee thought it would be fun to dress up like a princess herself, and visit a pediatric cancer patient in the hospital. After she and her roommate went to a hospital on Long Island  dressing up as Princesses Ann...

During the time period that David Hagan's son Ben was going through his battle with Leukemia, a battle that he unfortunately was not able to recover from,  David joined the Worcester , Ma. based non profit WHY ME to help him cope with what Ben was going through. This non profit affected David to the point where he eventually gave up his career in banking to become the Executive Director of th...

Jaclyn Murphy was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma when she was 9 years old. During her treatment, the Women's Lacrosse Team from Northwestern University found out about what Jaclyn was going through, and "Adopted" her as a team member. This act of kindness proved to be a special one for both Jaclyn and Northwestern, so much so that Jaclyn's father Denis and the Murphy family sta...

After having trouble learning how to ride her bicycle when she was 6 years old because of accidents and balance issues, Terry Calvin's daughter Claire was diagnosed with DIPG in the spring of 2020, just as the Pandemic was raging across America and the world.  Terry will talk about  what Claire has had to go through since that time, the support that has been generated for her in their communi...

Laurie Strongin's son Henry passed away at the age of 7 from the blood disorder Fanconi Anemia in 2002.  During Henry's battle with this disorder and after he passed away  Laurie worked very hard with the United States Congress, which included  polar opposites Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich to try and pass the Stem Cell Enhancement Research Act which would have helped Henry during his he...

Katie Holcomb's brother Ryan was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma  when she was entering her sophomore year in high school. On today's podcast Katie will talk about her brother who went through so much before passing away in 2007, 5 days before Katie turned 21.  Katie will discuss the difficulties that she had as a sibling during this time period which can be so hard for a brother or sister w...

Before her daughter Dakota was diagnosed with B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was 6 months old in April of 2019,  Shari Ann Almeida had never thought about Pediatric Cancer, which is a very normal situation for mom's and dad's as they begin their parental journey's.  On today's podcast Shari Ann will talk about how Dakota fought her cancer battle for 2 years before...

When Madison Quinn was 13 years old and saw a story on social media about a girl who was diagnosed with cancer, she knew she had to do something. That "something" was to start her own non profit STRONG LITTLE SOULS to help children who got a cancer diagnosis, starting with her putting together care packages for them . This non profit has expanded to include granting wishes when possible...

In 2018 Tim O'Connell started a non profit to start the process of achieving his dream of building a Vacation Home for Pediatric Cancer Patients and their families to enjoy for one week each year.  This vacation home is called Tommy's Place which was built in Falmouth Massachusetts,  was  named after the famous bartender and founder of the Falmouth Road Race Tommy Leonard , and opened in...

After watching her son Nicholas spend  188 days in the hospital with Acute Myeloid Leukemia,   Asley Haseotes decided to start a non profit to help future Pediatric Cancer patients be able to have some enjoyment during their mostly difficult hospital stays. She and her husband Ari named this non profit ONE MISSION and it is made up of many creative and successful programs which have brought smiles...

Dana-Sue and Bill Crews both had siblings who were diagnosed with cancer when they themselves were just 7 years old. They will discuss that, Bill's eventual adult cancer diagnosis in 2003 which was thought to be totally incurable but which saw him 5 years later competing in the Iron Man Triathlon, and his health 19 years later which is fine. Dana- Sue and Bill will also talk about the 2 books...

Michael Shpigelmacher is the Founder and CEO of Bionaut Labs. On today's Podcast, Michael will talk about an engineered tool which is showing MUCH PROMISE, as it tries to solve what has been the most difficult form of Pediatric Cancer in DIPG. Michael will talk about what his company has designed which is a Bionaut or a Robot,  the size of a grain of rice, which can get to the exact critical...

When 3 year old Avery Moskowitz was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor she went into surgery to have it removed. During the surgical procedure, her doctors had to stop the surgery as they found that Avery did not have a Wilms Tumor, but instead had Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Thus began a journey that has seen Avery fight her way past so many difficult issues and side effects but there she is now  8 years la...