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Nicole de Lara Puente has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Live Like Bella Foundation since 2017. This foundation was started in honor of Bella Rodriguez- Torres, who passed away in March of 2017 after a 6 year fight with Rhadbdomayosarcoma.  Nicole will talk about Bella and this foundation, which in conjunction with the State of Florida started the Live Like Bella Pediatric Cancer Initiative, which has now raised over 30 million dollars, and has funded 58 multi centered clinical trials. 

As the Housing Director of the Ronald McDonald House in Albany New York, Debbie Ross has greeted more than 20,000 families as they begin their stay at this home away from home while their children receive treatment at the Millie Duker Children's Hospital at Albany Medical. Debbie will talk about her career which has lasted over 40 years , making her  the longest serving housing director of this "House That Love Built". When Debbie began her career in 1982, 35 Ronald McDonald houses had been built and now there are 381 of these, spread out over 45 countries. 

After John and Shannon Sorensen noticed that their son Gabe's eyes were pointing inward, they took him to an Opthamologist and shortly thereafter he was at St, Jude Children's Research Hospital after he was diagnosed with the very rare Pediatric Brain Cancer Pineal Parenchymal Tumor Of Intermediate Differentation. John and Shannon will talk about their son's ordeal which began in January of 2021 and how he is doing now on today's podcast.They will also talk about some of the Psycho-Social issues that have affected their family, which includes two older sons.  

Keith and Brooke Desserich's daughter Elena passed away from DIPG after a less than 9 month fight against a Pediatric Brain cancer which has no long term survivor's. Keith will talk about Elena and her fight and THE CURE STARTS NOW Foundation which he and Brooke founded in 2007. This foundation has a mission to cure ALL Cancers and he pledges to stay with the foundation until his goal of ending Pediatric Cancer is completed. Keith has been at the forefront of research and commitment to trying to end DIPG for the past 15 years, which he and others believe is a key to accomplishing what he calls the Home Run Cure. 

Megan Fonte's son Jake was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia just before his 3rd birthday in March of 2004 and passed away in January of 2008, after a final relapse on Halloween in 2007 at the age of 6. Megan will talk about her beloved son and will also talk about the online grief group that she organized for parents who have also lost a child to cancer. This group is called PARENTS WHO HAVE LOST CHILDREN TO CANCER and now has over 1600 members who can relate and find comfort in talking to other parents who have suffered the same devastating blow. 

As the Executive Director of the Children's Oncology Camping Association, Jennifer Amundsen oversees 122 summer camps for children battling with some form of Pediatric Cancer. This translates into about 30,000 campers each summer spread out over the United States and Canada. Jennifer will talk about her role overseeing these camps and Ryan Campbell will talk about Happiness is Camping.  Ryan is a 3rd generation director of this camp which was started by his grandfather in 1982. Ryan is in charge of approximately 250 kids for a 4 week time period each summer and will talk about the life changing experience that these Pediatric Cancer fighters are able to enjoy each July.

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation has designed a novel approach in trying to help patients who have a myriad of illnesses and diseases , including Pediatric Cancer.  On today's podcast Dr. Lauren Powlovich who is the Associate Medical Director of the Foundation will talk about the highlights of what they do, including their most important approach which is to use non invasive technology. As they work on a number of Pediatric Cancers , they also hope to use less and less chemotherapy and radiation, which will help Pediatric Cancer survivors to have less trouble with the side effects that almost all of these kids have to deal with later in life. 

Jenny Olson's son Will was born 2 months early in January of 2008 and spent his first 61 days in a Newborn ICU Unit. 2 years later, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hepatoblastoma and went through a nine month treatment protocol. Will is now 15 years old, as he has been cancer free for over 12 years.  During Will's battle, Jenny decided to pursue a career in public speaking and becoming an advocate for pediatric cancer patients and their families, and she will tall about the many lessons that she has learned over the years. 

Lauren Hill began to experience dizziness while practicing with her High School Basketball team before her senior season began in 2013. Shortly thereafter, Lauren was diagnosed with DIPG. On today's podcast, her mother Lisa will talk about Lauren's amazing journey which saw Lauren continuing to play during her senior season. Already accepted to attend Mt. St. Joseph's college and play basketball there, Lauren was determined to both go to school and play. . As her conditioned worsened in the fall of 2014, Lauren stated that her goal was to make one basket for her team during her freshman season. Her hopes came to fruition on November 2nd of that year, as the NCAA moved up their game against Hiram College 2 weeks and the game was moved to Xavier University as Lauren's story went viral. Xavier's arena held 10,200 people and all of the tickets were sold within an hour.17 seconds into the game, Lauren took a pass , shot a layup, and it went in, electrifying both the crowd and the world. Lauren passed away on April 10th of 2015, but not before she developed a legacy that will last forever.Lisa will detail Lauren's journey eloquently, and talk about some of the 51 awards she won, both during her life and in the years after it.

Steve Wosahla has spent many years working in major positions in the Health Care industry and since 2020 he has been the CEO of the Non-Profit Children's Cancer Cause. Steve will talk about the policies and legislation that this organization has worked on with various facets of the government to help insure improvements in the lives of Pediatric Cancer patients and their families, and will also talk about more improvements coming in the years ahead. 

Max Manyak met 10 year old Ian McMillan who was battling Leukemia through a Notre Dame University program called Fighting Irish Fighting For Life in early 2020. Then Covid hit and while Max was back home in California he communicated with Ian. Upon returning to school he decided to send Max videos of what was happening during the Lacrosse practices that he and his teammates were taking part in. As Team Captain, Max encouraged his teammates to do the same. Shortly after that, Max created the non profit PEDIATRIC PEP TALK, which now involves all team members of the 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame. The focus of this non profit is for student athletes to create their own videos to these kids suffering from Pediatric Cancer to put a smile on their faces. As of now  the University of Arkansas, Indiana University, Northwestern, and Western Kentucky have signed up for this program with many Universities on the horizon. This program is in its infancy and will surely grow by leaps and bounds over the coming years.https://donorbox.org/healing-smiles-pediatric-peptalk.Instagram- @pediatric.peptalkTwitter @PediatricPeptlkEmail  max@peptlk.org

Hailey Adams was 3 years old when her older sister Hannah was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor. Even though she was so young , Hailey remembers watching her older sister go through such a tough but ultimately successful cancer battle. 3 years later at the age of 6, Hailey began her advocacy work for Pediatric Cancer by joining the American Cancer Society's Relay For LIfe.Now 17 years old and a High School Senior, Hailey has continued her advocacy work on many levels and is also completing her 1 year term as Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen.. 

Rachael Walkup is the Resources Project Manager for the Non-Profit LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY RETREAT. This Non -Profit sets up seaside settings in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina to invite families dealing with Pediatric Cancer to get away from thinking about Pediatric Cancer for one week to enjoy life. Rachael will talk about these retreats and the many activities that take place. Racheal will also talk about their 3 day Regional Retreats, their One Day Retreats, and their week long Bereavement Retreats. 

It is always so inspiring to hear about children who are diagnosed with Pediatric Cancer and they are still able to find it in themselves to give back to others even when undergoing treatment. We will hear a story just like this today as Jessica LaBella will talk about her daughter Anna, who was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in July of 2019 when she was 9 years old. Anna spent the next 3 years giving back to other Pediatric Cancer patients and started her Anna's Sunflower Warriors  Organization which  Jessica is now turning into a 501C 3 Non- Profit. Anna passed away on August 2nd of 2022 at the age of 12, exactly 6 months after this podcast was being published. 

Melissa and James Fleming's son Brock was out for a simple walk with James and his sister Jenna on May 4th of 2016 when he fell and hit his head. Brock suffered a severe concussion, one that was so bad that for a brief time he called his mother DAD, and his father, MOM. Everything looked fine in his neurological examination but when Brock smiled, his doctor was concerned and sent him to have an MRI. Unfortunately the MRI showed that Brock had DIPG, the worst form of Pediatric Brain Cancer.Brock's mom Melissa will talk about Brock and his DIPG Battle which came to an end when he passed away on December 10th of 2016, just 7 months after his original diagnosis. 

Lucy Grogan was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia when she was 8 years old. By the time she was 11 she decided that she was "Done" with cancer and wanted to do something to help other Pediatric Cancer patients.  On today's podcast Executive Director Jackie Walker will talk about the Non-Profit LUCY'S LOVE BUS which Lucy started, 6 months before her passing at the age of 12.  This Non-Profit focuses on bringing Integrative Therapies to these kids which bring them comfort as they battle with their individual cancer treatments . 

Not only are dogs man's best friends, they also have many common traits when it comes to the subject of cancer. On today's podcast, Dr. Elaine Ostrander will talk about the many similarities that the canine and human specie have when it comes to cancer, including similar forms of cancer, similar treatment protocols that they experience, and similar clinical trails that can work for both species.  Dr. Ostrander started the Canine Genome Project and has worked at the National Institute of Health for the past 18 years. 

Hannah Adams began her Pediatric Cancer advocacy work when she was just 8 years old, becoming the youngest captain in Florida for the Relay For Life event that is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. That was followed up by her being chosen at the age of 12 to be the National Youth Ambassador for Hyundai Motors for their Hope on Wheels Program. Hannah will talk about her incredible advocacy work for Pediatric Cancer, which was preceded by her own battle with a Wilms Tumor when she was 5 1/2 years old. Hannah is now a sophomore at the University of Alabama, is the reigning Miss Birmingham, and has previously been voted the outstanding Teen in Florida and the outstanding National Teen by the Miss America organization. 

In 2014 after having trouble swallowing, Paoola Sefair was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. In 2020 Paoola  was diagnosed again with cancer but the good news is that there is now No Evidence Of Disease. Paoola will talk about her cancer battles and will also talk about her Informational App MY CARE CREW that she started along with her friend Aneshka, which allows anyone involved in a cancer battle to communicate with others who are going through this same battle themselves. 

After hurting his leg as a sophomore in high school during a school football game in 2010, Ian Lock  went to his pediatrician who saw a dark spot on his leg while examining him. This spot turned out to be Osteosarcoma. Ian went through the usual difficult treatment for this most common form of bone cancer, and fortunately he did not suffer a relapse which so many Osteosarcoma patients do.Ian then decided to become an advocate through the American Cancer Society for Pediatric Cancer while still in high school and then while in college, decided to do research on such pediatric  cancers as Hepatoblastoma, Leukemia , and Osteosarcoma.Ian is now going after his PHD in Molecular Cancer Biology from Duke University and his career path is geared towards in some way helping Pediatric Cancer patients find an easier path to handle their own cancer battles.