A Father’s Day Blog by Rally Kid Dad Chris
Something just wasn’t right. “It is probably another ear infection. They will probably have to put tubes in her ears and start on another antibiotic. It should be cleared up in a week”. But the plan I had in my head didn’t come close to being true. After a trip to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA), bloodwork, and a CT scan, our first-born daughter Alexa was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma five days after her first birthday. My plan was shattered. This was my worst nightmare. Everything went dark in my mind and soul. “We can fix it!”, I thought. Through chemotherapy and surgery – she will be alright. But after ten rounds of chemo, two major surgeries, two years of an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment in New York City, years of being on continuous flow of oxygen, and ten years later…my plan was again shattered. Our plans for a life with her had crumbled and...
Rally Mom Claire’s Blog Part 2: Six Simple Steps to Help Your Child Feel Better During Cancer Treatment
If you find yourself in this position today, I wish that I could reach out and offer you a hug through this screen. This is a position that no child or family should ever be in. There is not a doubt in our minds that our efforts to reduce the toxic load on Millie’s body is the reason she thrived through ten months of intensive treatment and experienced minimal side effects from treatment. Other than her physical hair loss, most days you would have had no idea what Millie’s body was actually fighting. Her energy and love for life sparkled through it all. I want to offer you six simple ways that you can begin today to support your child and regain some control in your home. Our bodies are designed to thrive, and it’s a powerful thing to remember when facing the unthinkable. We kept this list on our refrigerator to remind us of our daily goals. While I know these tips do not lessen our...
Rally Mom Claire’s Blog Part 1: Rally Mom Claire’s Search for Supporting Her Daughter Through Childhood Cancer Treatments
My perfectly healthy, vibrant, almost 3-year-old daughter, Millie, was diagnosed suddenly with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue childhood cancer. I knew something was off when she woke up one morning and the right side of her face was slightly drooping. We spent the next few weeks in and out of the hospital where doctors were perplexed by her symptoms. For weeks, it was believed to be caused by an extreme middle ear infection causing pressure on her right facial nerve. After various medications and unsuccessful ear tube procedures, Millie’s symptoms worsened and left her doctors more confused. After an MRI and various scans, doctors eventually found a malignant tumor growing at the base of her skull, tangled up in several cranial nerves, as well as evidence of disease in her lungs. The tumor was deemed inoperable due to its location but was believed to be curable with prompt...
One Mission, 51 Childhood Cancer Researchers, $3.4 Million in Grants
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research Awards $3.4 Million in Grants This year, 51 researchers from 31 institutions across the country and worldwide will receive a total of $3.4 million in grants from Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. “Rally Foundation has now awarded $25.4 million in grants for childhood cancer research since we started in 2005,” says Dean Crowe, Founder and CEO. “From the beginning, our mission has been to fund the best research wherever it may be to help find better childhood cancer treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, cures.” Rally grants are awarded based on a competitive dual peer-review process conducted by Rally’s Medical Advisory Board, which is made up of 60 leading childhood cancer experts. These grants fund all levels of research, from science at the bench to translational, and they include second- and...
This Month, Go Big with Zaxby’s for Rally Foundation
Zaxby’s believes in promoting “Zax of Kindness.” Doing good to help others is part of their brand mission to enrich lives, one person at a time. Starting this year, they are asking Zaxby’s fans to do a simple Zax of Kindness: When you “Go Big,” you Go Big for the Kids! For a select time, when you upsize – or “Go Big” to a large drink and large fries – Zaxby’s will make a donation up to $100,000 over the course of the year to designated charities. This month’s charity is Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. Available at participating locations for a limited time. #ZaxOfKindness #GOLDSTRONG #RallyOn
Pediatric Cancer Dad Discovers a Promising Novel Approach to Wilms’ Tumors
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research (Rally) likes funding outside-the-box ideas and, at times, funding outside-of-the-box researchers: those who we normally not consider as a scientific researcher. Rally is thrilled to share recent developments from an outside-the-box researcher and his study of Wilms’ Tumor. The study emerges from the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) in Beaverton, Oregon, in collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Rally-funded researcher Andy Woods leads the study published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer (link Pediatric Blood & Cancer). But first, who is this outside-of-the-box researcher Andy Woods? Andy Woods is a college-educated stone and tile mason from Montana. He is also a Dad. A dad who heard the devasting words, “Your child has cancer.” When his daughter, Stellablue, was four years old, she was...
A Father’s Day Blog by Rally Kid Dad Chris
Something just wasn’t right. “It is probably another ear infection. They will probably have to put tubes in her ears and start on another antibiotic. It should be cleared up in a week”. But the plan I had in my head didn’t come close to being true. After a trip to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA), bloodwork, and a CT scan, our first-born daughter Alexa was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma five days after her first birthday. My plan was shattered. This was my worst nightmare. ...
Rally Mom Claire’s Blog Part 2: Six Simple Steps to Help Your Child Feel Better During Cancer Treatment
If you find yourself in this position today, I wish that I could reach out and offer you a hug through this screen. This is a position that no child or family should ever be in. There is not a doubt in our minds that our efforts to reduce the toxic load on Millie’s body is the reason she thrived through ten months of intensive treatment and experienced minimal side effects from treatment. Other than her physical hair loss, most days you would have had no idea what Millie’s body was actually...
Rally Mom Claire’s Blog Part 1: Rally Mom Claire’s Search for Supporting Her Daughter Through Childhood Cancer Treatments
My perfectly healthy, vibrant, almost 3-year-old daughter, Millie, was diagnosed suddenly with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue childhood cancer. I knew something was off when she woke up one morning and the right side of her face was slightly drooping. We spent the next few weeks in and out of the hospital where doctors were perplexed by her symptoms. For weeks, it was believed to be caused by an extreme middle ear infection causing pressure on her right facial nerve. After various...
One Mission, 51 Childhood Cancer Researchers, $3.4 Million in Grants
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research Awards $3.4 Million in Grants This year, 51 researchers from 31 institutions across the country and worldwide will receive a total of $3.4 million in grants from Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. “Rally Foundation has now awarded $25.4 million in grants for childhood cancer research since we started in 2005,” says Dean Crowe, Founder and CEO. “From the beginning, our mission has been to fund the best research wherever it may be to...
This Month, Go Big with Zaxby’s for Rally Foundation
Zaxby’s believes in promoting “Zax of Kindness.” Doing good to help others is part of their brand mission to enrich lives, one person at a time. Starting this year, they are asking Zaxby’s fans to do a simple Zax of Kindness: When you “Go Big,” you Go Big for the Kids! For a select time, when you upsize – or “Go Big” to a large drink and large fries – Zaxby’s will make a donation up to $100,000 over the course of the year to designated charities. This month’s charity is Rally Foundation for...
Pediatric Cancer Dad Discovers a Promising Novel Approach to Wilms’ Tumors
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research (Rally) likes funding outside-the-box ideas and, at times, funding outside-of-the-box researchers: those who we normally not consider as a scientific researcher. Rally is thrilled to share recent developments from an outside-the-box researcher and his study of Wilms’ Tumor. The study emerges from the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) in Beaverton, Oregon, in collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center....