«From August 11 to 13, 2010, 24 brave cyclists will embark on an endurance bike ride from Toronto to Montreal to give children with cancer—and their families—the hope, care and treatment they deserve».

McGill University Health Centre, August 10, 2010. Read the news release.

«Osteosarcoma often occurs in the long bone, often in the ends of the long bones, which is where the growth plate is," said Wang. "So if you have to treat that, or have surgery to remove the tumor, you often affect growth." "Osteosarcoma often occurs in the long bone, often in the ends of the long bones, which is where the growth plate is," said Wang. "So if you have to treat that, or have surgery to remove the tumor, you often affect growth." A tiny gear box and a magnet are located inside Morgan's prosthetic bone. Doctors place Morgan's leg in a donut-shaped housing where there is another magnet. When the two magnets meet, the tiny gear inside Morgan's leg powers on and starts to turn, and Morgan's leg grows. Every four minutes that Morgan's leg is in the donut-shaped device, her leg grows a millimeter».

ABC News, June 21, 2010. See the report.

«Pediatric oncologist John M. Maris, MD, describes the current state of the science in combating neuroblastoma, the most common solid cancer of early childhood, in his article in the June 10, 2010 New England Journal of Medicine, "Recent Advances in Neuroblastoma." In the article, Dr. Maris reviews the field's latest research knowledge — much of it based on efforts by Maris and his colleagues at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Maris directs a laboratory at CHOP in collaboration with the multicenter Children's Oncology Group (COG) using tissue samples from 5,000 patients — the world's largest sample collection for neuroblastoma».

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, June 14, 2010. Read the news release.

«Normal radiation goes through the tumor into healthy tissue and may cause collateral damage to vision, hearing, growth and learning. Proton beam therapy delivers higher doses of radiation which stop just beyond the tumor and theoretically cause less damage to healthy brain tissue».

CBS News, May 26, 2010. Read the report and play the video.

«After 24 years as a pediatric oncologist specializing in solid and soft tissue cancers, Holcombe Grier, MD, will transition to a part-time schedule. Currently associate chief of Pediatric Clinical Oncology at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care, Grier will make the shift in June 2010.The beloved, bow-tied doctor reflects on his experiences caring for children with cancer and their families».

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Paths of Progress, Spring/Summer 2010. Read the interview and see the video.

«Many pediatric cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), according to a systematic review published online March 22 in Pediatrics. The research team led by Dr. Felicity Bishop of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom reviewed 28 studies that surveyed a total of 3,526 children from 14 countries between 1975 and 2005. Twenty-three of the studies were performed between 2000 and 2005, and 10 were performed in the United States. The researchers found that 2 to 48 percent of surveyed children used herbal remedies (measured in 13 of the studies), 3 to 47 percent used dietary and nutritional interventions (measured in 13 of the studies), and 2 to 19 percent used megavitamins (measured in 7 of the studies). Other CAM modalities used included faith healing, mind-body therapies, and massage therapies. Those surveyed cited various reasons for the child’s CAM use, including to help cure or fight the child’s cancer and to provide symptom relief (both from the cancer itself and from side effects of standard treatment). CAM use did not appear to be associated with the gender, age, ethnicity, or family income of the pediatric patients, indicating wide use across demographic groups. Because some commonly used herbs and supplements can negatively interact with standard cancer treatments, the authors cautioned that “pediatric oncologists need to be aware that their patients (and their patients’ parents) will be seeking and integrating other therapeutic approaches while undergoing conventional treatments"».

National Cancer Institute Bulletin, April 6, 2010. Read the abstract.

«Perhaps the greatest victory in cancer treatment is the success doctor have had with kids. Four of 5 children and teenagers who get cancer can expect to be alive and well five years later. That's the usual definition of a cancer cure.But this happy story has a darker side. A analysis just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine predicts survivors of childhood cancers will live from four to 18 fewer years than people their age who haven't battled cancer.There are about 300,000 of these childhood cancer survivors in the U.S., and 10,000 more children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every year, most of whom will survive. About 1 in 4 of these survivors will die of cancer recurrence or new cancers, years after they were declared "cured," or from damage to their heart, lungs or other organs caused by the potent chemicals and radiation used to achieve those cures. "Childhood cancer survivors face considerable mortality during adulthood, with excess risks reducing life expectancy by as much as 28 percent," Jennifer Yeh of the Harvard School of Public Health and her colleagues conclude».

CR Magazine, April 6, 2010. Read the article.

«Choroid plexus carcinoma patients with a specific genetic mutation may now be able to avoid aggressive radiation therapy.
A team of scientists from SickKids (Toronto), the University of Toronto and The Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles have identified a genetic mutation that plays a major role in the outcome of a paediatric brain cancer called choroid plexus carcinoma. The study also sheds light on why some choroid plexus tumours are more aggressive and reoccur more frequently, and may also provide insight into the treatment of other cancers. The study is published in the March 22 advance online issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology».

Hospital for Sick Children, March 22, 2010. Read the news release.

«Cancer in adolescents and young adults is the theme of a CIHR (Canadian Institutes for Health Research) sponsored Café Scientifique that will take place on Monday, March 22nd, from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at McGill’s New Residence Hall, 3625 Avenue du Parc (between Pine Avenue and Prince Arthur). This free interactive information session is being presented by the McGill Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Program, Hope & Cope (Jewish General Hospital), Cedars CanSupport (McGill University Health Centre) and VOBOC (Venturing out beyond our Cancer). (…) Admission to this Café Scientifique is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about how cancer affects the adolescent and young adult population. A light supper will be served. Reservations are essential: please call 514 340-8255 or register on-line at mcgillaya@gmail.com».

The Monitor, March 4, 2010. Read the article.

«A survey of parents who had a child die of cancer found that one in eight considered hastening their child's death, a deliberation influenced by the amount of pain the child experienced during the last month of life, report Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
The study, the first to explore this sensitive area, suggests that many parents worry that their children will suffer from uncontrollable pain, and that some parents might consider that an early death would be preferable».

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, March 1, 2010. Read the news release.