Children's Cancer Awareness Month: The fight is far from over

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – This is a special edition of Beating the Odds in honor of Children's Cancer Awareness Month in September.

The reality is that on average, a child is diagnosed with cancer somewhere in the world every two minutes and that great strides have been made, especially at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. , There is still a lot to do.

Caitlin Sall, 20, is a kind of old soul, full of wisdom beyond her years, a passion for life that leaves you speechless; a young woman who has gone through more than most people can imagine.

"I have been here for six years at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and since 2012, there has really been no cancer except perhaps breast cancer," said Sall.

Caitlin was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 14.

"I was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, which is what I still have today," Sall said. It is one of the rarest forms of soft tissue cancer.

"I did seven cycles of chemotherapy, 31 cycles of radiotherapy and I underwent two surgeries and I remained in remission for 17 days, a little less than a year," she said. she declared.

"I was so close and (was diagnosed with) acute leukemia of Milo as a result of the first cancer," said Sall.

Caitlin should fight both cancers at the same time.

"I was also placed in hospice at that time because I did not think I was doing well with that, I did another round of chemotherapy and seven other sets of radiation, and then I had a bone marrow transplant, "said Sall.

But it will relapse several times over the years, which brings us to July 2018.

"It was really aggressive and my biggest tumor was 9.2 centimeters."

Caitlin has since restarted chemotherapy and after one cycle, her tumors have decreased by more than 50%.

"What is so incredible, we did not even know if it worked," she said.

"What we most want people to know, is that you hear children and cancer and you think it's sad news that it's difficult and maybe an uncertain outcome, but The reality The head of the pediatric hematology-oncology department is at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital from the beginning.

"A few decades ago, many of the diseases we treat had very poor prognosis and very low cure rates, and we now have progress on treatment and care and treatment, common childhood cancers," Fahner said. .

But the fight is far from over.

"In fact, despite these remarkable advances and higher cure rates, childhood cancer is unfortunately the number one killer of children and teenagers in the US, so we have made incredible progress," he said.

And the key to this is the ongoing research to find new answers.

"Funding for research by the federal government is that only 4% of national cancer research funding is spent on cancer in only 4% of children and the mysteries of cancer in adults are also numerous. . "Said Fahner.

Warriors in many ways, who could teach us a lesson in life.

"I feel like something that I've learned the most, which is really clichéd and everyone says that every day is such a blessing and that the next morning people take this for granted, there is nights where I did not know if I would wake up the next day and sometimes I do not know what the future is, "Sall said. "Things that look great are usually not too big, you just have to be really grateful for what you have and who you have in your life."

There are many ways to help Helen DeVos Children's Hospital to continue doing the work that she does. They have been named among the top 50 childhood cancer programs by the US News and World Report.

Outside the fight, you can learn more about the ways to give and the Spectrum Health Foundation here.