Latest news with #childhoodCancer
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
8yo gets wish after tumour found in kidney by ‘complete accident'
For Nick, watching his eight-year-old daughter perform onstage to over a hundred people, including Aussie actors, felt like a 'happy' end to a challenging chapter in her life. 'Seeing her on stage, seeing her happy, seeing her full of confidence, seeing her healthy … for family and friends who watched her go through the journey, it was a happy closure,' the father of four told 'She was an absolute star.' Audrey had been diagnosed with Wilms tumour, a rare kidney cancer, by 'complete accident' three years earlier, after she was taken to hospital at five years old for what was thought to just be a case of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). What followed was a stage three cancer diagnosis and a difficult year of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. One thing that helped Audrey through it all was performing. 'From a very young age, she's loved doing performances for small audiences with friends,' said Nick. 'It's something she's focused on a lot over the last few years.' It's why, when deciding on a wish by Make-A-Wish Australia – a charity which grants life-changing wishes for children and teens with critical illness – Audrey chose 'to put on a show for a HUGE audience'. Over the next 18 months, she worked hard to write and direct her own play 'Escape of the Animals' – taking part in scriptwriting workshops, costume fittings and rehearsals. The 20-minute production follows a dog who escapes with other animals to Hawaii to evade a 'mean dog owner'. It was a fitting choice for the eight-year-old, who has always loved animals and dreams of one day becoming a vet. 'She put a lot of effort into it and I think she was probably quite nervous a few weeks (leading up to it),' said Nick. On Thursday, Audrey's wish came true with the help of Make a Wish Australia and the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) when she took to the stage at ATYP's Rebel Theatre in Sydney alongside her twin brother, friend and other performers. The cast performed to a crowd of 110 invited guests, including family, friends, and Aussie actors Stephen Curry, Claudia Karvan and Daniel Wyllie. Other famous faces, including the Wiggles and comedian David Hughes, shared messages of support for Audrey, which were played aloud ahead of the performance. 'I feel happy and proud,' Audrey said after the show, which ended in a standing ovation. 'In one word, it was amazing,' said Nick. 'It was beyond anything that we could have imagined, anything that Audrey could have hoped for. The level of detail, effort, and care that Make A Wish put into it as well as the contributions from all the partners to make it happen was unbelievable.' For Nick, it was a particularly meaningful moment, as just three years earlier, Audrey was in the hospital missing out on a different performance she desperately wanted to attend. 'She had to miss her end-of-year school concert because she was unwell … it was devastating,' said Nick. 'It was a hard thing seeing her miss out on a lot of things.' Diagnosed with cancer at five by 'complete accident' Audrey had been diagnosed with Wilms tumour when she was five years old, after her mother, Alice, took her to hospital with RSV symptoms in May 2022. That night, Nick – who shares three other young children with Alice – was at home in Adelaide watching the federal election on television waiting for the pair to come home from the hospital. But things took an unexpected turn when Alice called and said he needed to join them at the hospital. 'She said doctors found that there was something wrong with her kidney or an enlargement on her kidney which set off alarm bells for us,' Nick explained. Knowing 'something wasn't right' but unsure of exactly what, Nick drove to hospital where Audrey was undergoing more tests. Hours later, doctors told Nick and Alic 'they were very confident that it was a Wilms tumour'. Audrey's cancer – a stage three tumour – was asymptomatic. 'It was found by complete accident,' said Nick, who explained her enlarged kidney was only discovered after a junior doctor took the time to carry out a physical on Audrey. Nick and Alice were 'shell-shocked' by the news. 'When you hear about kids going through these things, you naturally don't really think it's ever going to happen to you or your child.' Thankfully, Audrey's tumour was treatable and not aggressive. A few days after the diagnosis, Audrey underwent a seven-hour operation, during which surgeons removed a 500-gram tumour in her kidney. The five-year-old then underwent radiotherapy followed by eight to nine months of chemotherapy, the last of which ended in January 2023. Throughout treatment, Audrey stopped putting on weight and lost her hair, which she was 'very upset about'. But throughout it all, she never complained once. 'She took it in her stride … She was amazing, she was incredibly stoic,' said Nick. 'I think she sort of just accepted that she had a tough couple of months and she did. She was consistently brave.' Audrey is now happily two years in remission. While there is still a chance the cancer could come back, Audrey regularly receives check-ups and is 'comfortably through the higher risk stages of when it could return'. After her performance and watching her wish come true, Audrey is looking to continue acting and has already booked into an acting camp with her friend. But her dream of becoming a vet is still very much on the cards. 'She would do everything,' said Nick. 'Vet by day, actor by night.'
CBS News
15-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation celebrates 25 years of impact, inspiration benefitting children with cancer
It was 25 years ago that Alex Scott held her first lemonade stand. Today, the foundation in her name has raised more than $300,000,000. The little lemonade girl has had quite an impact on the world and children with cancer, kids like Philip Steigerwald. "I really thought that he was going to die, and I had to come to terms with that," said Wendy Steigerwald, Philip's mother. But Philip Steigerwald is alive because of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. Right before his third birthday, he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma –the same cancer Alex Scott had. CBS Philadelphia "I remember when he was getting the chemo, I was meeting with somebody about you know, all the troubles that we were having, and I remember saying to her, 'We could have had a good life,' and she's like, 'Why do you say that?' I said, 'Well, cause he's dying, he'll be dead,'" Wendy Steigerwald said. After grueling treatments, doctors told the Steigerwalds that there was nothing more they could do. That is, until they learned of a clinical trial at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, partly funded by Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. "It's been a game changer. Kids who were destined to die are alive today," Dr. Yael Mossé, with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Every morning he would take a pill, that's all he did, and it worked, it worked. I mean, it was a miracle," Wendy Steigerwald said. Philip Steigerwald is not the only child alive today because of Alex and the foundation created in her name. CBS Philadelphia Brynn was part of a clinical trial in Georgia, partially funded by Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. She gets scans every six months, and a member of her family said things have been amazing since they ended the trial. Lincoln and Abbie were in that trial. Lincoln is cancer-free! Plus, Abbie's tumor is stable, and she has a Master's degree and volunteers at a camp for children with cancer. CBS Philadelphia Those clinical trials, those miracles started with Alex Scott and her idea for a front-yard lemonade stand. She wanted to help all kids with cancer, not just neuroblastoma. "I thought we might find a cure for her," said Liz Scott, Alex's mother. "We knew a lot of kids with neuroblastoma, and I felt like it was something that we needed to put all the funding into. But Alex very smartly told me that that was selfish and that all kids want their cancer to go away." "If Alex didn't push us to fund all types of childhood cancer research, we wouldn't be where we are today," Jay Scott said. "Because we would be a neuroblastoma organization. We would be much smaller. We would have been unable to help as many kids as we've been able to help." CBS Philadelphia The Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation has funded 1,500 medical research grants at 150 institutions, and there are more than 240 ongoing clinical trials that are funded by them each year. "If you're doing pediatric cancer research, you come to [the] Alex Lemonade Stand Foundation. We couldn't do our work without this kind of support," said Dr. Leonard Zon with Boston Children's Hospital. Twenty-five years of making a difference, better treatments and safer cures. Twenty-five years of offering hope. "That's where your hope comes from," Liz Scott said. "That there's going to be something new in the pipeline that your child is going to receive that's going to make their cancer go away. It didn't happen for Alex, but the fact that it's happening for other kids now because of Alex is beyond anything I can express what that means." "Wendy would always say 'Show me one kid that survived this,' and that's what – we didn't have any hope and now Philip, is that hope for parents that are going through it now," Philip Steigerwald's father said. CBS Philadelphia
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Pakistan chosen for WHO program offering free cancer drugs for children
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been selected to join a global initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that will provide free, essential cancer medicines for children starting this year, the country's health ministry said on Thursday. The program, known as the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, aims to improve survival rates among children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries by ensuring reliable and equitable access to life-saving drugs. 'It is a matter of pride that Pakistan has been selected for this program in 2025,' Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said in the statement. 'This is a major milestone in ensuring free cancer medicines for children next year.' Each year, more than 8,000 children in Pakistan are diagnosed with cancer, he continued. However, many are unable to receive timely or effective treatment due to limited drug availability, high costs and weak health care infrastructure. The health minister noted that a large number of children die as a result of these gaps. Kamal emphasized that Pakistan would fully utilize the support provided through the platform, calling it a unique opportunity to address local health challenges using global resources. 'Through this program, Pakistan can access international support to overcome domestic challenges in delivering timely and effective treatment,' he said. The global platform, launched in 2022, is backed by a $200 million commitment from St. Jude and operates in coordination with WHO. It supports countries in developing sustainable supply chains, treatment protocols and health care capacity to address childhood cancers. Pakistan is among a growing list of countries to be included as the platform scales up its outreach.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Andy's Army 2025: Lemonade stand in Sewell raises money for a cure for cancer
SEWELL, N.J. - Andy's Army set up a lemonade stand in Sewell, New Jersey to raise money for a cure for cancer. What we know On Sudnay, Andy Fee and his family set up the lemonade stand in partnership with the well-known Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. Andy was diagnosed with neuroblastoma four and a half years ago at the age of nine-months-old. Andy's father, Mike Fee, described that moment, saying, "It was an absolute whirlwind, you never think it would happen to you. Thankfully, we are in Philadelphia we have Children's Hospital of Philadelphia right in our backyard so, that was our first stop, to go to CHOP to understand what our treatment options were, then work out a plan and fight it as hard as we can". Mike said the fight wasn't easy, especially when doctors found an additional condition after Andy's initial diagnosis. "He had a secondary condition called Opsoclonus-Myoclonus-Ataxia Syndrome (OMAS) which basically your immune system attacks your nervous system so he lost the ability to walk, crawl, and talk. All the things Andy is now able to do, and in order to give back, he is selling lemonade and raffle tickets to try and support those like him. "Being local in the area we always heard about Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, we always knew about Alex, this is where we wanted to put our effort into helping other kids with cancer and hopefully find a cure one day for all cancers," said Mike. The family has a set a goal to raise $5,000. If you would like to donate online, you can at
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
How the annual Great Chefs Event in Philadelphia aims to "really change the world"
Dozens of renowned chefs from across the country will gather this weekend at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia for the Great Chefs Event, a culinary celebration benefiting the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, which funds cutting-edge research and supports families affected by childhood cancer. Among the star-studded lineup is Chef Nok Suntaranon of Kalaya, whose soulful Southern Thai dishes add both flavor and feeling to the cause. "We can really change the world by doing good," Suntaranon said. "We just focus on one thing — to honor Alex and her dream." The Great Chefs Event has become a signature moment on Philadelphia's culinary calendar, blending gourmet plates with a powerful purpose. More than 40 chefs donate their time, ingredients and talent to raise funds that directly support pediatric cancer research and support programs for families in treatment. Alexandra "Alex" Scott started Alex's Lemonade Stand after she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at just 4 years old. Her goal: Raise money to find cures for children with cancer. By the time Alex died at the age of 8, she had raised more than $1 million. Her legacy lives on through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, and the Great Chefs Event that's now in its 18th year. Now, her legacy lives on through events like these, where every bite tells a story and every donation brings researchers one step closer to a cure. In the past, Great Chefs has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support pediatric cancer research and families in need. The event is sold out, but you can still make a donation to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
