Jennifer a pediatric nurse dedicated to raising awareness for all types of cancer published a small note in The oncology nursing news about the increased risk of developing obesity-related cancer in overweight or obese adults who are childhood cancer survivors.

She explains that higher amounts of body fat cause chronic inflammation in the body, this inflammation can damage our DNA increasing the risk of developing obesity-related cancer.
At highest risk of obesity are childhood cancer survivors of ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) or those who received radiation, more specifically the brain, and total body irradiation (TBI).

Survivors who get cranial radiation and also receive glucocorticoids have an increased risk for obesity.

Raising awareness of the importance of proper nutrition and exercise should begin as early as possible to avoid or at least control the obesity as a survivor.

Here are some tips that can help your child eat well, taken from the guide for parents of children with cancer from the National Cancer Institute:

• Talk with a registered dietitian.
• Learn what types of foods and drinks are best for your child.
• Some children may be advised to get extra protein and calories.
• Encourage small, frequent meals.
• Check before giving vitamins or other supplements.
• Take special care with food to lower the risk of infection.
• There are some foods that can help reduce side effects.
• Call about changes.
• Ask about activities that may be recommended to your child.

Reader’s digest created a space for parents with kids with cancer; they interview 5 parents, each of whom had a child diagnosed with cancer.
Fighters, activist, heroes, and their inspiring stories of courage and bravery that can give us perspective on how strong and capable we can be
if we get together and fight together as parents to move forward with the purpose of finding a cure for childhood cancer, there is so much we can do for our children…

Gretchen Holt- Witt founder of Cookies for kids with cancer that dedicates to raise funds for research to develop new, improved, & less toxic treatments for pediatric cancer by selling cookies. Their efforts have always been inspired by their son Liam’s who lost the battle with stage IV neuroblastoma.

• You need to know you did everything you could, everyone who gets involved is a hero- Gretchen Holt-Witt

Barbara Canales, founder of Ready or Not Foundation that promotes national and international awareness of pediatric brain cancer, and raises money for research in order to find better treatments and a cure for pediatric brain cancer. Her efforts are dedicated to her daughter Jackie diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma and its now in remission.

• Nobody is ready for cancer to come into their family. No parent can be ready to hear the terrible statistics that accompany high-grade pediatric brain cancer.
  Whether you are ready or not, one out of every three hundred thirty (330) parents will find themselves facing a cancer battle with their own child.- Barbara Canales

Lisa Tichenor, founder of the QuadW foundation that provides financial support to people and organizations pursuing innovative ideas and opportunities in the areas of higher education, sarcoma research, personally transforming mission experiences and general philanthropy.
The QuadW foundation was formed in honor of Willie, Lisa´s son, who lost the battle against Osteosarcoma when he was 19 years old.

• “It’s not so much where you go, but what you do there and who you do it with.” – Willie Tichenor

Nancy Goodman, founder of Kids V Cancer that promotes pediatric cancer research by identifying structural impediments at key junctures in the
research process – new drugs, tissue donation and access to funding – and developing strategies to address them.
They explore and support a number of efforts to create a standard by which children, including very young children,
are included in early clinical trials She started Kids v Cancer after her son, Jacob Froman, died of medulloblastoma at age 10.

• At the time of Jacob’s treatment, there were several exciting, molecularly-targeted therapies in development or recently approved. However, there were few pediatric trials of these novel therapies, and there was no information as to whether any might benefit Jacob. Jacob, at the age of 10, died early on a Friday morning in January 2009. The next day, I opened my laptop on the dining room table and founded Kids v Cancer with the goal of changing the landscape of pediatric cancer research. –Nancy Goodman (taken from https://www.kidsvcancer.org/how-the-race-for-children-act-will-get-drugs-to-kids-with-cancer-the-cancer-letter/)

Frank Kalman, founder of End Kids Cancer Foundation a pediatric cancer research charity that educates families to get a better cancer treatment and provides financial support for research and clinical trials in order to cure neuroblastoma (NB), with an emphasis on non-toxic treatments. He created this organization inspired by his battle with his daughter Calli, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when she was 10 years old.

• You make the most difficult decisions up front when you know the least. The centers you go to, the doctors you see will make a huge impact on the outcome of your child and identify those centers took me 10 years on how to do that. And I have figured it out that the most important thing that you can do as parents is confirm, anything anyone tells you, confirm it- Frank Kalman

Us, parents with kids with cancer, we learn so much during this battle that we are able to share our knowledge and effort to help other parents that are in the same situation.
If this is what it takes to find a cure, we encourage you to stand up against this battle and to GET INVOLVED, GET INSPIRED, TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Raining in my heart is a documentary released the last November of 2017 by real stories,

of three children who enrolled in cancer research clinical trials in Britain.

With all the conventional treatment exhausted, these kids are offered to try immunotherapy.

Sophie Ryan-Palmar (12 years old), whose cancer came back four times,

Fabian Bates (11 years old) diagnosed with Leukemia and

Chloe (3 years old) who’s Neuroblastoma has spread throughout her body.

This documentary follows these children and their families for 2 years,
giving them space to talk about their feelings and emotions as well as the decision-making process during this battle.
This documentary honors these heroic children who are helping discover new cancer treatments
and helps by raising awareness on this subject and offering hope to other cancer patients.

You can watch the full documentary here:

Chloe’s parents created a diary and they are sharing a lot of their battle on her Facebook page, to read more about her story click here.