by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on September 15, 2011
By Tom Ulrich. A version of this story originally appeared in Vector, Children’s science and innovation blog
While many childhood cancers are readily curable, those cures can come at a cost to future fertility. (Wikimedia Commons)
Thanks to advances in medicine, 75 percent of children currently diagnosed with cancer will live to see adulthood. This is extremely welcome news of course, but with it comes new questions about what adult life holds for survivors of childhood cancers. As science is now discovering, the therapies that are so effective at saving children’s lives can also occasionally lead to problems down the road (called the late effects of cancer treatment.)
Some of the more common concerns surrounding late effects of cancer treatment have to do with its effects on fertility, which can be quite harsh. “There’s a huge segment of the pediatric oncology population that’s at risk for infertility when they grow up,” says Richard Yu, MD, PhD who works on male infertility in Children’s Hospital Boston’s department of Urology.
The problem is hardly gender specific. “It’s as though cancer treatment pushes the ovaries further down the age curve,” says Sara Barton, a fertility specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who collaborates with Lisa Diller, MD clinical director of the Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC). “So while a woman who has survived childhood cancer may be 20 years old, her ovaries act like they’re 35 or 40.” Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on June 28, 2010
Dixie Coskie is the mother of a child who lived through both a traumatic brain injury and cancer. In this blog post, Dixie writes about the stress that comes from being the primary caregiver of a sick child and the importance of taking care of yourself. Click here to read more of Dixie’s writing, including excerpts from her book, Unthinkable! A Caregiver’s Companion.
Dixie and her son, Paul
No one is immune to getting that phone call—the one that tells you something bad has happened to your family. Be it a diagnosis of a life-threatening disease or an involvement in a horrific accident, you never expect it to happen to someone you love. When it does, most of us are totally unprepared for the constant caregiving that follows and how it can impact your life emotionally, spiritually and physically. Full story »
Most people know that smoking is bad for the people who light up a cigarette and inhale. And most non-smokers know that inhaling someone else’s smoke can be unpleasant. But is it dangerous?
High in toxic chemicals, secondhand smoke causes or contributes to many health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A new study, out this month, adds to the growing evidence that exposure to secondhand smoke is especially concerning for children. Full story »
WBZ-TV yesterday shared the story of Charlotte Kelly, a 3-year-old Children’s patient who is battling stage IV neuroblastoma. The chemotherapy used to treat Charlotte’s cancer destroys the platelets in her blood, so she needs regular transfusions to replace them. Her mother’s colleagues from the Tynan Elementary School in South Boston gave the greatest holiday gift this week when they came to Children’s Blood Donor Center to donate platelets for Charlotte.
As you’re giving gifts this year, don’t forget to give the ones, like blood and platelets, that don’t cost a dime but help kids like Charlotte every day at Children’s and places like it around the world.
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on November 9, 2009
By Celiane Rey-Casserly, PhD, ABPP-CN, director of Children’s Neuropsychology Program and neuropsychologist for the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Every year, about 2,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with a brain tumor. Thanks to better technology and treatments, children are now surviving brain tumors at increasing rates. But as these survivors age, pediatric cancer specialists like me are beginning to understand that the legacy of childhood cancer extends well into adulthood. We’re learning that survivors of brain tumors face a variety of late effects from their cancer and treatments.
A recent paper by Leah Ellenberg, PhD, of University of California Los Angeles, found that survivors of childhood brain tumors reported significantly greater neurocognitive dysfunction than their siblings or than survivors of other types of childhood cancer. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on November 8, 2009
Here’s a quick look at what Thrive was up to last week.
Read why the days of jumping back into a game after a possible concussion are over. A new study shows that adult survivors of childhood cancer are much more likely to experience suicidal thoughts than their peers. Children’s expert Ellen Hanson, PhD, questions whether autism really is on the rise. An experimental heart valve saves a child with H1N1. Children’s has established and unprecedented partnership with the state’s largest health plans. The HealthMap team gives its weekly H1N1 update. Children’s Dennis Rosen, MD, questions whether sleeping late can keep your child slim and Joanne Cox, MD, answers parents’ questions about H1N1. Our resident mediatrician tackles the question of graphic violent and sexual images in the media and a teen guest blogger writes about teens and self-esteem.
Do you have a Children's Hospital Boston story you'd like heard? By sharing your Children's story you can be a great source of inspiration and encouragement to families who are going through similar situations. And it’s a great way to find support by connecting with others. Share your story today »
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