Nearly 50 years ago, just four percent of kids diagnosed with leukemia survived their disease. Today that number is 94 percent. Also, only seven percent survived non-Hodgkin lymphoma. That number is 85 percent today. Why kids are surviving these life-threatening diseases at staggering rates is easy to explain: cancer care and research has become so advanced and children's hospitals are realizing the importance of treating not only the disease, but also a child's emotions, imagination and fears.
Reaching Out
Rated number-one in "U.S. News & World Report", Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is undeniably the Best Children's Hospital for cancer treatment in America. There's no doubt that hospitals are scary places for kids. So when a child is diagnosed with cancer, one of a parent's biggest challenges is explaining what will happen from here. CHOP takes the burden off your hands with its kid-friendly, Flash website, Kids Health Galaxy. Kids aged six to 12 can learn about what to expect when going to the hospital with a virtual tour, and description of the doctors, nurses and other hospital workers they'll meet. Animated movies explain get x-rays and getting an IV. They'll even get to learn about some of the equipment they will come across during their stay.
Music Heals
Music Rx, part of the Children's Cancer Association, uses the healing power of music to help ill children and their families. Therapeutic music specialists and trained volunteers provide bedside music therapy. They perform in hallways and travel with an interactive cart carrying about 100 instruments, songwriting and recording technologies and karaoke. Music Rx also has an iPod lending library for all ages. This award-winning program was launched in 1995 in Portland, Oregon. It has since expanded to California, and is in the planning stages of further U.S. expansion.
Free Treatment
You've probably seen their holiday catalogs. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, raises funds by selling products designed by actual patients. A not-for-profit medical institution, St. Jude accepts patients regardless of a family's ability to pay. St. Jude covers all costs of treatment beyond those covered by insurance. The medical center covers patient's costs when they have no insurance as well. They provide transportation and living-expense assistance while your child is being treated. Children come from all over the United States for St. Jude top medical care and cancer treatment facilities.
Tags: cancer treatment, Children Hospital, diagnosed with, learn about, number percent
