For thirty years, there has been little to no progress in treatments for many pediatric tumours. The death rate for kids with certain types of cancer has not improved. The chemotherapy and radiation treatments are essentially the same as they were in the 1970s. These treatments attack healthy tissue along with the tumours themselves. This leaves children who do survive childhood cancer with tremendous long-term health consequences.
Although overall survival for children with cancer has improved substantially over the last three decades, significant challenges remain. A considerable number of childhood cancers are incurable, particularly those where tumours have recurred or metastasized. The most important challenge at this time is to understand why specific types of tumours spread or come back and why some of the most aggressive tumours are so resistant to therapy. Understanding these basic concepts will lead to improvements in cancer survival, improvements in the quality of life of children surviving their cancer, and will ultimately alleviate the burden on their families.
This has to change and the Team Finn Foundation is committed to being a part of that Change.
