The expressive arts team, part of Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, supports childhood cancer patients with music, art and massage therapy as they undergo treatment at Norton Children’s Hospital. The team has modified these normally hands-on, in-person therapy sessions to continue helping immunocompromised patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. While…
Drew Esposito, “Super Drew” to those who know him, spent almost half a year in the Addison Jo Blair Cancer Care Center at Norton Children’s Hospital. When the 5-year-old returned in January, it wasn’t as a patient. This time, he brought a $31,407 check to help the patients who will follow him. Drew gained his…
Recently, ESPN reporter Edward Aschoff passed away unexpectedly on his 34th birthday after a brief illness. His fiancée disclosed that he was diagnosed with multifocal pneumonia and was being treated for a “presumed diagnosis” of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). What is HLH, and what can make it dangerous? HLH is a rare but treatable blood condition…
It’s unlikely Jim James was thinking of childhood cancer when he wrote the song “Victory Dance,” for My Morning Jacket’s 2011 record “Circuital.” The song, however, has become a rallying cry for the children and young adults undergoing treatment at Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the University of Louisville. With the musician’s permission, the…
In the weeks leading up to Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, 13-year-old Bradley Wilson was feeling sick. He’d gone to his pediatrician and was told that it was just a virus. Friday night, Aug. 28, he was as sick as he’d ever felt in his entire life. His parents realized that something was really wrong; Bradley…
Childhood cancer survival rates have dramatically improved in the past 40 years. Fortunately, now almost 85% of children survive to adulthood, many with very positive outcomes. Childhood cancer treatment has evolved to focus on treatment of the whole child, including their physical, social and emotional needs. At Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL…
Since she was a child, Jenni Haynes wanted to adopt a baby girl from overseas. That dream recently became reality. In April 2018, Jenni and her husband adopted a 2-year-old girl from China who had survived cancer as an infant. The girl’s right arm was amputated when she was 5 months old after she was…
There is an amount of uncertainty with any type of neurosurgery. Neurosurgeons study a patient’s medical history, current condition, and computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to plan for surgery. However, those images can show only so much. Once surgery begins, surgeons may face issues that they couldn’t have anticipated. Now, however,…
Andrea and Barry Smith will never forget April 25, 2018. That’s the day their 18-month-old daughter, Emaleigh, had a computed tomography (CT) scan that threw the family into a tailspin. The Smiths had barely gotten home from the test when the doctor called. Emaleigh had a solid tumor in her chest, near vertebrae — hugging…
Symptoms of osteosarcoma in kids Pain and swelling are common signs of osteosarcoma. It is not unusual for active children and teenagers to experience limb pain as they grow, but any pain that lingers beyond two weeks should be checked by a medical provider, especially if it involves swelling. According to the American Cancer Society,…
For many families, Christmas is a time for treasured memories. For the Walsh family, the Christmas of 2018 will always be unforgettable, but not for the usual reasons. That was when 4-year-old Seth was diagnosed with leukemia. Michelle Walsh said the news of Seth’s cancer threw the entire family into shock. “It all happened so…
A haploidentical transplant is a special type of allogeneic blood and marrow transplant used to treat children with blood-related cancer and disorders, for whom a conventional stem cell donor cannot be found. In an allogeneic transplant, a child’s unhealthy blood-forming stem cells are replaced with a donor’s healthy blood-forming stem cells. For the transplant to…