HOUSTON, Texas — A unique music program at Texas Children’s Hospital is helping children with cancer and blood disorders tell their stories through music. Purple Songs Can Fly is the first recording studio ever created on a pediatric cancer floor. The studio gives young patients the opportunity to write their own original songs and record them. Founder Anita Kruse first started Purple Songs Can Fly in 2006 after performing at Texas Children’s Hospital as a visiting musician. “When I thought of that line, Purple Songs Can Fly, I was thinking of the idea of sort of rising above illness,” said Kr ..read more

On International Childhood Cancer Day 2024, we highlight the vital role of parents, as well as family doctors and paediatricians, in the early detection of childhood cancers. No one is more ready to invest in their children’s well-being than parents. By getting to know the early signs and symptoms of certain cancers and looking out for them, you could save your child’s life. Globally, more than 1000 children are diagnosed with cancer every day. Recent medical advances make for very high chances of survival in high-income countries, where more than 80% of children diagnosed with cancer will sur ..read more

Amid the sounds of trimmers and cheers, 13 people volunteered to have their heads shaved Feb. 23 to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation to help fund pediatric cancer research. (Photos: Jenny Fontaine/UIC) As clippers buzzed, locks of hair fell to the floor at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation annual head-shaving event at UI Health’s Children’s Hospital University of Illinois. Thirteen people, many of them hospital staff, showed up to get their heads shaved Friday, Feb. 23, to raise money for childhood cancer research. UI Health hosts the event every year and applies for grants from St. Baldr ..read more

UofL students took to the dance floor to “Fight Like a Kid” for the 11th annual raiseRED dance marathon, coming out victorious by raising more than a half-million dollars to support pediatric cancer research and patient services. The 18-hour event is the university’s largest student-run philanthropy and generates money for Norton Children’s Cancer Institute and the UofL Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology. The dynamic event, which included themed hours, karaoke and sports tournaments, kicked off Friday at 6 p.m. and ended at noon Saturday with the heartwarming reveal of the total a ..read more

We’re on the cusp of March Madness, with the NCAA men’s basketball tournament kicking off today in Dayton, Ohio, and millions of people hurriedly completing their brackets before the whistle blows. Here in Sarasota, there’s another piece of college hoops action taking place. The much-loved TV announcer and local resident Dick Vitale is releasing a new book that’s all about raising money for pediatric cancer research. In recent years, Vitale has been diagnosed with melanoma, lymphoma and vocal cord cancer. In his new book, Until My Last Breath: Fighting Cancer With My Young Heroes, he tells sto ..read more

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — 10 years after winning his battle with leukemia, Pepper Vigil is using his experience to help children and teens fight that same fight. It all started one day at practice. Vigil thought he sprained his knee. “But I was in so much pain that I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t walk, I was not eating. They did some blood tests and, next thing I know, I had leukemia,” Vigil said. That diagnosis changed everything for then-15-year-old Pepper and his family. “It took a lot of things from me. I didn’t get to go to high school. I was a pretty prospective athlete going into high school. It ..read more

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) -To see the very precocious nine-year-old, Nikolas Pakkidis, you’d never know that he’s already fought the battle of his life. “I wouldn’t eat. I wouldn’t drink. I wouldn’t do anything. I was nauseous all the time, and it got to the point, where they had to take me to the emergency room,” says Nikolas. Just last year, Nikolas Pakkidis spent about five months in the hospital, after being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL. He has a rare variant, but his dad says he’s responded well to treatment. “Nikolas is probably one of the strongest kids you’ll ever meet ..read more

As Aracilis Castillio watched her son gasping for air, she steeled herself for what was to come. She hoped what was troubling her boy, 10-year-old Luis Yireh Cancel-Castillo, was something simple like fatigue. But when she and her husband, Luis Cancel, rushed him to a nearby hospital, they had resigned themselves to a different kind of struggle. The family moved from Puerto Rico to York five years ago. English is still challenging ― especially when it comes to talking with people in white coats, who seem to communicate in a third language of medical and scientific terms. What came next for the ..read more

HOUSTON – For many bakeries in town, the King Cake is the most popular item at this time of year. At Common Bond, the King Cake isn’t just a Mardi Gras staple, it’s also a way to spread happiness and pay it forward. For the fourth year in a row, Common Bond is partnering with Texas Children’s Hospital and Sky High for Kids, organizations committed to providing comfort and saving the lives of young warriors fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Pastry Chef Samara Peña took us behind the scenes at the bakery to show us how they crank out thousands of croissants, loaves of bread ..read more

Okla. — While country music singer and songwriter Toby Keith was a known as a country music star, he also had a huge heart for children with cancer. Keith died at 62 after a three year battle with stomach cancer on Monday. On Tuesday, FOX23 spoke with the Executive Director of Ally’s House, a non-profit that Toby Keith helped get off the ground back in 2004 to provide support to pediatric cancer families in Oklahoma. Ally Webb, who lost her battle with cancer just shy of her third birthday, was the daughter of Keith’s original band mate, Scott Webb. Linda Webb, Ally’s mother and the Executive ..read more