Levine Children’s Hospital: We’re Doing All We Can to End Childhood Cancer
Content provided by Levine Children’s Hospital
Today, the 5-year survival rate for those with childhood cancers stands at more than 80 percent – up more than 20 points since the 1970s.
That’s encouraging news for families with children with cancer. But there’s still a long way to go, especially when funding for pediatric cancer remains low.
Here at Levine Children’s Hospital, we’re doing all we can to cure the incurable. We sat down with some of the cancer specialists at LCH to hear what excites them about cancer care here in the greater Charlotte area.
Personalized medicine. As part of the Beat Childhood Cancer initiative, LCH researchers are investigating tailored courses of chemotherapy based on a person’s individual genetic makeup. “We give you a personal answer, telling you what drugs may work for a specific tumor. For people who have gone through chemotherapy, that is a very unique thing,” says Javier Oesterheld, MD, medical director for pediatric hematology, oncology, and blood and marrow transplantation.
New technology for rare nerve cancer. LCH is building a dedicated lead-lined room to deliver a special kind of therapy called MIBG to treat neuroblastoma, a form of high-risk nerve cancer. We’ll be one of fewer than 20 centers in the United States to offer this type of therapy, says Dr. Oesterheld.
Dynamic approaches for blood and marrow transplantation. Replacing broken stem cells with healthy cells from a donor is one way to cure many types of cancer. We’re one of 12 institutions in the country studying a new technology that can help kids with cancer who have no other donors. “We have a number of kids who we’re helping save with this technology, and we’re really privileged to be able to bring this top-level work here to Charlotte,” says Jeffrey Huo, MD, pediatric blood and marrow transplantation specialist.
Immunotherapies. Many new treatments for leukemia involve helping the body itself to fight off the cancerous cells. “We’re now able to trick the body’s own immune system into recognizing the leukemia cells as bad, so it can go and kill those cells,” says Joel Kaplan, MD, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. “This type of research is one of the most cutting-edge things going on in the nation right now, and we’re contributing to those efforts here at LCH.”
Beyond new therapies, our doctors know that better treatment also includes providing the extra human touch – to be at our best when children are at their worst. “The science of cancer is always changing, which keeps us on our toes,” says Dr. Oesterheld. “But the idea of being able to get a child through probably the worst times of their lives – for us, that’s invaluable.”
As we move into crunch time for our 
“But as I laid her in my bed tonight, I knew that hospice was right. She is trying for the last time to live.. but her body will soon lose the fight. I feel like I’m coming to peace a bit with the fact that we are going to lose her soon. The community of people supporting us doubles daily and her reach is growing nationwide. It seems fitting for her as Isabella always thought that she was a celebrity her whole life, but just wasn’t sure why. That point was made very clear today when my phone rang with a blocked number.. Taylor Swift was on the other side of my phone and she had heard of Isabella and her fight. Isabella is a huge fan of hers and a month ago, she would of screamed bloody murder to hear her on the other side of the phone. But, this disease is taking all the of things about Isabella that made her so wonderful. It was all she could handle to just lay on the couch and listen to this woman she loves speak to her through the phone. She could barely speak, she just looked at the phone with one eye closed as if she was trying to see Taylor in the phone somehow. If you could of seen Isabella at her concert a couple of months ago, it would take your breathe away to see her now. How just a couple of months and a horrible disease can steal more and more things from her every day. Makes me so sad to see it. Even the revolving door of loved ones who leave and I know they are thinking it is the last time they will ever see her. This is my day.. my heartbreak, Isabella’s heartbreak, and heartbreak from everyone we come in contact with. I can only think that through her life, so many are changed that it will make the difference.. maybe even save another child’s life. Isn’t that what we all want? Our life sacrifice. knowing it can save someone else’s? That is an amazing gift. One death for the sake of millions? I know that is what Isabella would want in the end. To know that because of her, another little girl will not have to miss her last day of kindergarten. I selfishly wish that my daughter was the one being sparred. That her last day of kindergarten tomorrow would be filled with laughing and running and playing. Instead we head to the clinic for a full day of blood and platelets. Another memory, stolen. How unfair her life has been, but how beautiful it has been as well.” -Isabella’s Mommy (June 7, 2012)