I am not quite ready to move on from CureSearch and how they support Children’s Oncology Group. I remember one of my first appointments with my oncologist, Dr. Dan, when he told us about CureSearch and Children’s Oncology Group. He was very enthusiastic about how the “Pediatric World of Cancer” shared information and how this has led to major improvements in saving the lives of children with cancer. Children’s Oncology Group is highly responsible for this. Without all of this information sharing about clinical trials, I would be living in heaven right now.
One more thing that I will always be grateful to CureSearch for is for having up-to-date, accurate, and understandable information on their website. Can you imagine how my mom must have felt when she found out that I had a huge, scary, un-nameable blob inside my chest? Dr. Dan was kind and compassionate when he strongly suggested to my mom that she should go to the CureSearch website for information (somehow he knew that my mom is a major information gatherer; something about having a child with cancer made her even more so!) Just knowing that there was a place to go for truth was an enormous blessing to her– and to me!
http://www.childrensoncologygroup.org/
This is COG’s mission from their website:
The mission of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) is to cure and prevent childhood and adolescent cancer through scientific discovery and compassionate care. To accomplish this mission, the Children’s Oncology Group:
- designs and conducts clinical trials to define optimal therapy for children and adolescents with cancer. Currently, COG has more than 110 Phase I, II, and III active clinical trials which enroll approximately 5,000 patients annually, with > 70,000 patients in active follow up.
- conducts laboratory research which will translate into more effective treatments with reduced short- and long-term side effects.
- seeks to identify causes of childhood cancer with an ultimate goal of developing prevention strategies.
- conducts research to improve quality of life and survivorship.
- seeks international partnerships, when necessary, to fulfill its mission.
Guess who is in a clinical trial with follow-up care? Me.
There is a bumper sticker that I feel applies to our tax dollar priorities, and it says this:
“It will be a great day when cancer research, clinical trials, and treatment for children with cancer is fully funded– and prisoners need to hold a bake sale to pay for their medical care.”
Really???????????????????
Melinda Marchiano 
Leave a Reply