Volunteers are the heart of Rally's mission!
National Glioblastoma (GBM) Awareness Day
WRITTEN BY RALLY MOM EMILY Lucy was born on November 13, 2015 in Roswell, GA at North Fulton Hospital. I had a normal pregnancy and a textbook delivery. Lucy was the fourth and final beautiful baby girl to complete our family. She was a perfectly healthy child with no sign of illness, until a few weeks after her 4th birthday in Fall 2019. Lucy’s symptoms first presented as a low-grade fever and a stiff neck. Her first visit to the ER was December 1, 2019 and she was diagnosed with a strained neck, called torticollis. After a few sleepless nights and periods of neck and arm spasms, we ended up back in the ER. My husband, Jonathan, and I explained our neurological concerns and insisted that the doctor watch her walk across the room—something she could barely do. She was off-balance and her muscles were weak. We ended up discharged with a muscle relaxer for Lucy’s neck muscles. The...
A Letter from Sophie
ANYONE can make a difference in the fight against childhood cancer—just ask Sophie! Read about her creative fundraising efforts below. You, too, can join the fight against childhood cancer. Just click the button to learn more!Help Us Rally
“I never imagined we would face childhood cancer.”
WRITTEN BY RALLY MOM KELLYANN I never, ever imagined we would face cancer. Let alone, childhood cancer. My son Nolan was eight years old when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on February 18, 2019, at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) Scottish Rite. Nolan had been experiencing pain in his leg when, after seeing an orthopedist and receiving x-rays, he was referred the hospital for an MRI then a biopsy. It was supposed to take 3-5 days for results but, in a matter of moments in that post-operating room, our world crumbled when we were told that Nolan had osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. As we would come to learn, osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents; it typically occurs in patients under the age of 25. The survival prognosis for a child with osteosarcoma is about 70-75% but drops even lower to 20-30% in the event of a relapse. Needless to...
What is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)?
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also called acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL for short, is a type of blood cancer that causes bone marrow to overproduce a type of white blood cells called lymphoblasts. ALL is the most common type of cancer that affects kids, accounting for roughly 30% of all cases of childhood cancer. Lymphoblasts are immature white blood cells that are responsible for identifying and destroying foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses. When someone has ALL, the bone marrow produces too many lymphoblasts that do not mature properly. These immature lymphoblasts prevent normal lymphocytes from forming and are simultaneously unable to fight infections in the body. Signs and Symptoms of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia The fact that ALL affects the body’s defense system means that the disease will likely cause a lot of problems for patients before being diagnosed. These...
What is Wilms Tumor?
Wilms tumor is a type of kidney cancer that primarily develops in children around the ages of three and four. It’s the most common type of kidney cancer found in kids. Approximately 9 out of 10 kidney cancers in children are Wilms tumors, sometimes known as nephroblastoma. There are two types of Wilms tumors that are classified by their histology, or how they look microscopically: favorable histology and anaplastic histology. A Wilms tumor with favorable histology means that, while the tumor isn’t normal, the cells aren’t too large or distorted and the patient will typically have a better prognosis. Anaplastic histology means that the cancer cells vary greatly and have large, distorted nuclei. This is called anaplasia and is harder to treat than tumors with favorable histology. Signs and Symptoms of Wilms Tumor Common signs and symptoms of Wilms tumor are masses in the abdomen and...
Rally Foundation Announces Young Investigator Recipients of its Largest-Ever Grant Awards
We are living in unprecedented times. As the world grapples with a number of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing seems normal or constant—but that really isn’t true. Childhood cancer remains a constant. At Rally, every day we are hearing about new diagnoses, relapses and even kids dying from cancer. You know what else remains constant? The commitment of the Rally Foundation Board of Directors, Advisors, supporters, and staff to fund the best cutting-edge childhood cancer research—even in these unprecedented times. Last year, Rally made a commitment to fund two $300K Career Development Grants to Young Investigators, in an effort to propel and advance their research to a point where they would receive federal funding. A Young Investigator is sometimes called junior faculty. These amazing individuals are between one and seven years post their pediatric oncologist fellowship...
National Glioblastoma (GBM) Awareness Day
WRITTEN BY RALLY MOM EMILY Lucy was born on November 13, 2015 in Roswell, GA at North Fulton Hospital. I had a normal pregnancy and a textbook delivery. Lucy was the fourth and final beautiful baby girl to complete our family. She was a perfectly healthy child with no sign of illness, until a few weeks after her 4th birthday in Fall 2019. Lucy’s symptoms first presented as a low-grade fever and a stiff neck. Her first visit to the ER was December 1, 2019 and she was diagnosed with a strained...
A Letter from Sophie
ANYONE can make a difference in the fight against childhood cancer—just ask Sophie! Read about her creative fundraising efforts below. You, too, can join the fight against childhood cancer. Just click the button to learn more!Help Us Rally
“I never imagined we would face childhood cancer.”
WRITTEN BY RALLY MOM KELLYANN I never, ever imagined we would face cancer. Let alone, childhood cancer. My son Nolan was eight years old when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on February 18, 2019, at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) Scottish Rite. Nolan had been experiencing pain in his leg when, after seeing an orthopedist and receiving x-rays, he was referred the hospital for an MRI then a biopsy. It was supposed to take 3-5 days for results but, in a matter of moments in that...
What is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)?
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also called acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL for short, is a type of blood cancer that causes bone marrow to overproduce a type of white blood cells called lymphoblasts. ALL is the most common type of cancer that affects kids, accounting for roughly 30% of all cases of childhood cancer. Lymphoblasts are immature white blood cells that are responsible for identifying and destroying foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses. When someone has ALL, the bone marrow...
What is Wilms Tumor?
Wilms tumor is a type of kidney cancer that primarily develops in children around the ages of three and four. It’s the most common type of kidney cancer found in kids. Approximately 9 out of 10 kidney cancers in children are Wilms tumors, sometimes known as nephroblastoma. There are two types of Wilms tumors that are classified by their histology, or how they look microscopically: favorable histology and anaplastic histology. A Wilms tumor with favorable histology means that, while the tumor...
Rally Foundation Announces Young Investigator Recipients of its Largest-Ever Grant Awards
We are living in unprecedented times. As the world grapples with a number of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing seems normal or constant—but that really isn’t true. Childhood cancer remains a constant. At Rally, every day we are hearing about new diagnoses, relapses and even kids dying from cancer. You know what else remains constant? The commitment of the Rally Foundation Board of Directors, Advisors, supporters, and staff to fund the best cutting-edge childhood cancer...