September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Childhood cancer affects nearly one in 10,000 kids each year, and nearly 13,000 children under the age of 21 are diagnosed each year in the United States. While cancer is still the leading cause of death in children between infants and age 15, survival rates have increased significantly over the past few decades – up from 58 percent in the 1970s to nearly 80 percent in recent years.
While we’re glad there’s a month dedicated to raising awareness around childhood cancer, our work at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota doesn’t stop on Sept. 30. We continue working toward early detection, creating the best outcomes for our patients and advancing research.
On Monday, Oct. 1, we invite you to join Dr. Kris Ann Schultz and Dr. Joanna Perkins from our Cancer and Blood Disorders Clinic during #childrenschat to discuss what we’re doing to advance childhood cancer research.
Follow the hashtag #childrenschat on Twitter from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. CST on Twitter. If you’re unable to participate or follow the chat, we’ll share a transcript of the chat on Tuesday, Oct. 2, right here on the Kids’ Health Blog. We can still take your questions, too. You can submit questions in advance by Tweeting them to @ChildrensMN with the #childrenschat hashtag or sending them to brady.gervais@childrensMN.org.
#childrenschat leaders:
Topics:
• Childhood cancers: How does cancer impact kids differently? What is the latest in research?
• Children’s has a unique care philosophy for treating its pediatric cancer patients. What is it and how does it impact the patient and family experience?
• What is Children’s doing to advance cancer research?
We hope you will join us on Oct. 1. Read more about Childhood Cancer Awareness Month here.