DIPG Blog, News, and Articles
Steroids – Practical Advice from a Parent's Perspective
March 24, 2021
When a child is diagnosed with DIPG, they are commonly put on a steroid . Because of the location of DIPG , the high risk of the tumor swelling and causing more side effects, the use of steroids are necessary to help. Steroids are an anti-inflammatory used to reduce swelling and inflammation around the tumor. “What we are using the steroids for in…
Practical Advice from Parents for Newly Diagnosed DIPG Families
March 3, 2021
A cancer diagnosis is difficult enough but when the diagnosis is for a child, it’s life-altering and one of the single most devastating events in a parent’s life. There is no set path to trek when handling a childhood cancer diagnosis. Advice from parents who have been down this road can provide hope and tips for handling treatment and making…
Breakthrough International Cancer Trial Halts Tumor Growth
February 23, 2021
The Cure Starts Now
The following article originally appeared on thecurestartsnow.org The Cure Starts Now Foundation funds novel trial that halts tumor growth in 2/3 of study CINCINNATI | February 18, 2021 – The Cure Starts Now announced that the Polyamine Pathway Metabolism as a Novel Therapeutic Option for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma ( DIPG ) grant, funded in…
In the Lab with Dr. Carl Koschmann: Therapeutic Reversal of Pre-natal Pontine ID1 Signaling in DIPG
January 4, 2021
Researcher at the University of Michigan Hospitals The Cure Starts Now recently sat down with Dr. Carl Koschmann to discuss his research grant for Therapeutic Reversal of Pre-natal Pontine ID1 Signaling in DIPG. What is the purpose of your research? “Our aim is to get sequencing from as many spots as we could separate from the pons, where the…
Translating Clinical Trials
November 2, 2020
The Cure Starts Now
This article originally appeared on thecurestartsnow.org Keith Desserich, Chairman of the Board at The Cure Starts Now, explains clinical trials – what they mean for cancer patients and how they work. Clinical trials are set up in phases, all designed to focus on an idea. We call these preclinical, or even translational research trials. They are…
DIPG Re-irradiation Side Effects and Considerations
November 2, 2020
The Cure Starts Now sat down with Dr. Luke Pater, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Cincinnati Department of Radiation Oncology and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, to discuss re-irradiation in terms of DIPG, DMG and medulloblastoma. Recently families facing progression of DIPG, DMG and Medulloblastoma have received…
Dr. Han Shen Discusses Overall Progress on his DIPG Research
July 22, 2020
The Cure Starts Now
This article originally appeared on thecurestartsnow.org Dr. Han Shen, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Australia Funded Project: Targeting hypoxia and mitochondrial metabolism with repurposing drugs as an approach of radiosensitization for diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas Funded Amount: $100,000 Dr. Shen provides an update on his recent…
DIPG Patient Database with the International DIPG/DMG Registry
June 24, 2020
Data by itself offers us no clues to beating cancer. Even as a result of diligent collection from a research trial it offers little more than a confirmation of hypothesis. But what happens when data gets together? What happens when you collect data organically, across platforms and at the source? There you can detect patterns, form new theories…
Making Memories After Diagnosis
April 8, 2020
Dealing with any brain cancer is never easy. Often times it can be a battle between the clinical nature of treatments and quality of life as families struggle to adapt to the new norm. As part of this struggle, it is customary to focus on making memories, whether facing a terminal diagnosis or not. Even beyond creating memories, often these simple…
Communication: When a DIPG Child Can No Longer Speak
April 1, 2020
Understanding The Journey: A Parent’s Guide to DIPG
Content used with permission from the American Childhood Cancer Organization . Hoffman, Ruth, editor. Understanding The Journey: A Parent’s Guide to DIPG. American Childhood Cancer Organization, 2012. Print. Contributing Authors: David Brownstone, MSW, RSW, Caelyn Kaise, MHSc, SLP(C), Reg.CASLPO, Ceilidh Eaton Russell, CCLS, MSc (candidate)…
Grieving Daily and How to Cope
April 1, 2020
One parent’s personal journey to deal with the loss of your child from cancer. Losing a child is nothing you can prepare for. Often you never want to admit it even after it happens. I know, I’ve been there. After losing our daughter to DIPG, our response was to form a community and over the years we’ve met many other families that have walked the…