Please, Don’t Stay Little
This piece was originally posted by Kristy Westrom on the CaringBridge page for her son, Liam, who was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblasti...
Looking Forward
When Nick was in high school, soccer was everything. So when he started feeling a bad pain in his calf after a game, he assumed it was a normal...
Against All Odds
Tracy’s brother once said about her, “Don’t ever tell my sister she can’t do something, because she will always prove you wrong.” Pro...
Holes – A Survivor’s College Essay
One year ago, Matthew Buff, a leukemia survivor, was fine-tuning his college applications. Today, he is a busy freshman at Emory University maj...
Making the Bed
This piece was originally posted by Kristy Westrom on the CaringBridge page for her son, Liam, who was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblasti...
4 Ways You Can Protect Immunocompromised Cancer Patients
Many cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy can become immunocompromised – this means their immune systems are very weak, and they a...
The Beginning – Liam’s Diagnosis Day
This piece was originally posted by Kristy Westrom on the CaringBridge page for her son, Liam, who was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblasti...
The Finish Line
Michelle Vaith originally gave this speech at CCRF’s Thanks to You event in September 2018. After 859 scary, grueling and extremely stressful...
Jacob’s Story – Becoming a Hero
On an otherwise unremarkable day in June 2015, Nicole noticed something about her son that seemed harmless at first – he was limping. She was...
Nolan’s Story – Why Research Matters
Nolan, then just 16 months old, had labored breathing in the few weeks before Labor Day 2015. Originally thinking it was asthma, his parents, P...
Gabby’s Story – The Power of “Gabbitude”
Chemotherapy is pretty nasty, but has yet to take down what 13-year-old Gabby’s mom calls her “Gabbitude.” Gabby is feisty and always tel...
Izzy’s Story – One in a Million
In December 2016, Amanda and Jeremy celebrated the birth of their twins, Isabelle (Izzy) and Isaiah. Just over a year later, they were back at ...
The Ultimate Act of Generosity
Susan Doherty's son Elliott was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma at age 11. Susan now sits on the Children's Cancer Research Fund Board of Directo...
Making “Big Dreams” Come True
Living as a zebra, becoming a tomato head man and jumping into a video game – these are just some of the imaginative ideas that James Orrigo ...
20 Years Later, a Survivor’s Thank-You
While Melissa’s friends were enjoying high school, going to football games and touring colleges, Melissa was fighting not one, but two types ...
5 Ways to Help a Sibling of a Cancer Patient Feel Important
Being a sibling of a childhood cancer patient can be scary and confusing. Family dynamics change, schedules are unpredictable and schoolwork an...
Finishing Treatment Didn’t Feel as Good as We Thought
In April 2014, doctors found a mass in Joe’s left kidney. Two months later, he was formally diagnosed with metastatic Ewing sarcoma. After he...
It’s Ok – Fearing What Comes After the Hospital
I never wanted to be in the hospital. Nothing about leaving my home for a week, skipping school or missing Friday night football games to have ...