When you donate to Rally, you fund much-needed childhood cancer research—but there’s more to it. Childhood cancer changes EVERYTHING. It...
Childhood Cancer
What is Ewing Sarcoma?
Ewing Sarcoma Defined Ewing sarcoma is a cancerous bone tumor that affects children, adolescent and young adults—usually developing during...
Rally Kids Maylee & Kiki: #FORTHEIRFUTURE Of Friendship
When you give to Rally, you aren’t just funding research—you are funding childhoods. You’re giving kids the chance to experience life,...
Meet Rally Kid Lex: A Fun-Loving 11-Year-Old Who’s Fighting Blood Cancer
There’s no way around it: Childhood cancer is sneaky, and it happens unexpectedly. Symptoms can be mild and are often confused with other...
Social Security Disability Benefits for Children with Cancer
Navigating a childhood cancer diagnosis is difficult on multiple levels including trying to understand how and if your child qualifies for...
What is Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT)?
Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT) is a rare and fast-growing tumor that typically originates in the brain and spinal cord. These...
A Letter from Elaine
It’s been fifteen and a half years since a malignant tumor the size of a grapefruit was removed from the left kidney of our son, James....
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...
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 Medulloblastoma?
Medulloblastoma is a type of brain cancer that’s most commonly found in children. “Medulloblastoma starts in the cerebellum, which is...
Childhood Cancer
Childhood Cancer Facts
We want to give you the childhood cancer facts, so you know what that inspire us to Rally On towards our goal of finding better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and ultimately cures for kids that have cancer. Childhood Cancer Facts Childhood cancer is the #1 disease killer of kids in America. Every school day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer. 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. will not survive. Approximately 1 in 264 children in the U.S. will develop cancer...
Dean’s Reflections – June 2021
Hi Friends, The Rally Team came to me with an idea. And you know at Rally, if there is one thing we like, it is new ideas! They wanted to do a quarterly newsletter that would be concise and let Rally, our community as a whole, know what was happening. They asked me if they could call it Dean’s Reflections. I personally think Rally Reflections would have been better, but I finally agreed. So welcome to the first Dean’s Reflections. My first reflection is looking back on 2020 and at the first...
What is Big Data and Childhood Cancer Research
After being born and living in Turkey my whole life, I came to the US for college to study biological sciences at the University of Chicago. When the laboratory research internship I found for the summer of my first year was cancelled due to COVID-19, I joined a resume match program of my school’s Career Advancement Office, which matched students with employers based on experience and preferences. It was initially through this program that I matched with the Pediatric Cancer Data Commons...
My View Looking Forward
Before cancer, I was never a morning person, but now I love waking up in my home with the entire family under one roof. Most nights, I wake up around 3 am in a panic. Did I dream up this terrible nightmare that my 4-year-old son had cancer and had four inches of his leg cut off? I rush to Gus’s room to check on him and sometimes lay next to him. I tell him I love him to the moon and back and that I am so proud of him. I know these moments are what matter most in life. Right now, it is easy to...
Discovering the Reality of Childhood Cancer Treatment
On our diagnosis day, we were told that our four-year-old Gus had Ewing Sarcoma. What doctors didn’t know was the particular type or variant he had. Tumor Sequencing Tumor sequencing is vital, as some variants of Ewing’s sarcomas have poorer outcomes, require specific drugs, and prohibit the use of other drugs. The variant determines the treatment plan. Parents need to know the type of cancer their child is fighting- and if the hospital doesn’t know, parents should demand to have the tumor...
Gus’ Journey Through Cancer
Gus, my 4-year-old son, was chasing me down the stairs on our way to the basement for our early morning workout. This particular morning, Gus jumped from the stairs onto the floor and took an extra step. Something seemed off, but he didn’t complain after he landed, so we moved on with our day. That afternoon, Gus complained about pain in his leg when his mom, Heidi, picked him up from preschool. But by that evening, he was running around again. The following morning, he was limping, though not...