Meet Michele, a forever 24-year-old cancer warrior that was taken too soon. Just by looking at Michele’s social media, you could tell that she loved to live life. She loved traveling, especially to the beach. Michele fought a three year battle with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). The cancer was initially found in her forearm in 2013. In the fall of 2014 she relapsed. In the final year of her cancer journey, she was referred to another oncologist who tried a new chemotherapy that seemed to be working for a short time from February to June of 2016.
While Michele was at work, her mom, Valeria got the call. It was Friday, July 26, 2013 at 3:34pm and it was 72 hours after Michele’s biopsy. Michele was at work and I got the diagnosis over the phone. She said, “I couldn’t believe it. I called my family, friends, and Michele’s dad. They all came over and we decided to let Michele just come home from work and then tell her. I was a total wreck, so her dad sat her down and gave her the news”, Valeria remembers.
The first battle with cancer consisted of ten and a half months of three chemotherapies weekly, and every third week all three chemotherapies were inpatient. The second battle with cancer consisted of eight and a half months of three chemotherapies with the first week inpatient and then weekly outpatient chemotherapies. Through her cancer journey, Michele had six surgeries.
During her fight, she continued college and graduated from University of Connecticut with a BA in Psychology, minoring in Women’s Studies. She held a 3.74 GPA and was the Magna Cum Laude with high honors. She even started graduate school for her Master’s degree in Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University. She wanted to prove that, “yes, I have cancer; but cancer doesn’t have me”, as she would state on her Facebook page.
Michele passed away on September 28, 2016. She once wrote on a Facebook post, “I’m thankful for my struggle because without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” She continues to be an inspiration to those closest to her with her #TeamM Facebook page.
For more information about RMS: https://www.acco.org/sarcomas/
To donate to ACCO: https://www.acco.org/donate/
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Donate today because kids can’t fight cancer alone®.
About American Childhood Cancer Organization
The American Childhood Cancer Organization was founded in 1970 by parents of children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer. As the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated to childhood cancer, ACCO is committed to shaping policy, supporting research, raising awareness, and providing free educational resources to kids with cancer, survivors, and their families. Additionally, ACCO is the sole U.S. member of Childhood Cancer International (CCI) and has helped support more than half a million families over the past 50 years. Help make childhood cancer a national health priority because kids can’t fight cancer alone®.
For more information about how ACCO can help your family, call 855.858.2226 or visit:
Meet Olivia, a dynamic and determined 13-year old who loves theater and softball. Olivia is a brave cancer warrior currently fighting acute lymphoblastic t-cell leukemia (ALL).
Currently, Olivia is in the maintenance phase of treatment with home chemo pills, a monthly clinic chemo, and quarterly lumbar punctures with methotrexate.
Together, the brain and the spinal cord—the sensitive column of nerve cells inside the vertebrae of the spine—make up our central nervous system (CNS). Cancers of the central nervous system, more commonly called brain and spinal cord tumors, are the second-most common form of cancer in children, after leukemia. Statistically, brain tumors and spinal cord tumors are often grouped together; however in reality, there are a number of different types of tumors of the brain and the spinal cord, each of which requires a unique treatment approach and carries its own prognosis (outlook).
THE ACCESS TO CHILDHOOD CANCER ESSENTIALS (ACCESS) INITIATIVE ANNOUNCES TRANSFORMATIVE PROGRAMS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CRITICAL MEDICINES
In partnership with Teva Pharmaceuticals, Direct Relief and the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Fund Supply Agency, ACCESS is providing an emergency provision of 13 cancer medicines from the World Health Organization’s Essential Medicine List—more than 17,000 vials—to children with cancer in Ethiopia.
The American Childhood Cancer Organization was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by parents of children diagnosed with cancer to advocate for their needs and support research. The nation’s largest grassroots organization at the forefront of the crucial battle against childhood cancer and sole U.S. member of Childhood Cancer International, the ACCO is dedicated to shaping policy, supporting research, raising awareness, and providing educational resources and innovative programs to children with cancer, survivors, and their families. Since its inception, the ACCO has helped support more than half a million families affected by childhood cancer in the U.S. and expended to provide grant funding to support childhood cancer programs in Ethiopia. Visit www.acco.org.
The Centre for Global Child Health is the dedicated hub for global child health-focused activities at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). With a rich history of innovation in global paediatric health and a reputable network of global partners, the Centre for Global Child Health is well poised to effectively address global child health issues. The Centre supports the global health agenda through collaborative research grounded in scholarship, sustainable capacity building through education, advocacy for improved maternal and child health and the active communication of results to local, national and inter-national stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.sickkids.ca/globalchildhealth and follow on Twitter @SickKidsGlobal.
Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 90 countries worldwide, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies. Direct Relief works to equip healthcare providers who care for vulnerable people on an ongoing basis and during emergencies. To achieve this goal, Direct Relief partners with local health providers, leading healthcare companies, and business leaders, to deliver medicines, medical supplies and equipment through transparent, reliable, and cost-effective channels. Direct Relief seeks to support existing health providers over the long term, delivering aid without regard to race, ethnicity, political or religious affiliations, or ability to pay.
When we think of the spine, or backbone, we generally think of it as the part of the skeleton that enables us to stand upright and walk. However, the bones that hold us upright have a second, and potentially even more important, responsibility: protecting a delicate column of nerve tissues that carry messages between the body and the brain. These messages between body and brain are what enables our body to function normally.
Meet courageous Colton Whisler, a four-year-old warrior currently battling Perimeningeal Rhabdomyosarcoma, otherwise known as RMS. We were pleased to connect with Colton’s family through The Mark White Show, 
