Dance, tumbling, playing outside and all things pink — these are the joys that light up Rally Kid Nora’s world. She loves to go to school...
Rally Kid Nora: Fighting for Her Future — Again.
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Childhood Cancer
Nora’s Journey With Cancer: The Spirit of a Fighter
Like most 4-year-old girls, Nora was full of life — happy, energetic and always on the go. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until her...
What Are the Most Common Childhood Cancers?
It’s no secret that adults get cancer. But children get cancer, too -- and it’s more common than you might think. Worldwide, 300,000 kids...
What’s One Hour of Your Time Worth?
Some people think of volunteering as a nice gesture. But in the fight against childhood cancer, it’s a lifeline. Volunteers are the...
What is Ewing Sarcoma?
Ewing Sarcoma Defined Ewing sarcoma is a cancerous bone tumor that affects children, adolescent and young adults—usually developing during...
What is Rhabdomyosarcoma?
Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a type of soft tissue cancer that most commonly affects children and adolescents. It’s often found in skeletal...
What Is Osteosarcoma?
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents. The tumor often originates in the long bones of the body,...
What is Brain Tissue Donation?
When your child is first diagnosed with brain cancer, you may be asked if you want to donate your child’s tumor tissue. A brain tissue...
What is Rotationplasty?
If your child is diagnosed with osteosarcoma or Ewing sarcoma, both different types of bone cancer, near or around the knee, your doctor...
What Is MIBG?
When your child is diagnosed with cancer, you have to learn a whole new language in just a few days. Terms, phrases, and abbreviations are...
What a Difference a Decade Makes
May of 2013 brought the last dose of chemo for my daughter, Danielle. Back then it was hard to see or even think about what life would be...
Brain Tumor Network Guides Patients and Empowers Care
A few months ago, Rally Mom Tiffany shared with Rally Foundation the outstanding support their family has been receiving from the Brain...
What Is A Second Opinion?
Hey Mom and Dad, Let’s chat, Cancer Parent to Cancer Parent, about seeking a second opinion. I’ll be the first to admit I was very nervous...
What Is CAR-T?
You may have heard of CAR T-cell therapy, also called CAR T, but what is it? It is an immunotherapy treatment that uses your child’s own...
What Is a Bone Marrow Transplant?
You just learned that your child has to have a bone marrow transplant. It sounds ominous. You have a lot of questions. Like, what exactly...
Childhood Cancer
What is Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)?
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a brain tumor found in a part of the brain stem—above the back of the neck and connected to the spine—called the pons. The pons is a vital part of the brain, controlling critical bodily functions like breathing, swallowing, blood pressure, heart rate, eyesight and balance. DIPG occurs almost exclusively in children; most often between the ages of four and 11. DIPG accounts for roughly 10-15% of all brain tumors in children. These tumors—called gliomas...
What is a Glioma?
“Glioma” is a general term for a group of tumors that begin in glial cells—the supporting cells of the brain. Gliomas are classified based on their location and by the type of glial cell—astrocytes, oligodendrocytes or ependymocytes—from which they arise. Thus, many different types of brain tumors are classified as gliomas, like astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, ependymomas, brain stem gliomas and glioblastomas. About half of all pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors are gliomas. Gliomas are...
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 Retinoblastoma?
In simple terms, retinoblastoma is an eye cancer that develops in the immature cells of the retina. Though it is rare—with approximately 300 children diagnosed in the U.S. each year—it is the most common eye cancer in children. This malignant intraocular cancer rarely occurs in adults. Retinoblastoma can occur in one or both eyes and is caused by genetic mutations in the nerve cells of the retina. The retina is comprised of nerve tissue and is the part of the eye that’s responsible for sensing...
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...
Cancer in Teens and Young Adults
Childhood cancer is a big problem. In the U.S. alone, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every school day. But it doesn’t just affect school-age children -- babies, teens, and young adults can get childhood cancer, too. In the last 20 years, thanks to research, many more young children and older adults are surviving their cancers. But that’s not the case for teens and young adults. Teens and young adults are unique. Their cancers are different, their bodies are different, and they face...