laura6885: They saved my sons life. He is 7 years old now and will be 5 years in remission this month which technically means he’s cured!
I will be forever grateful to Dr. Davidoff and his team.
dick-nipples: Intersting tidbit from Wikipedia:
>In 1995, St. Jude received an anonymous letter postmarked in Dallas, Texas, containing a $1 million winning McDonald’s Monopoly game piece. McDonald’s officials came to the hospital, accompanied by a representative from the accounting firm Arthur Andersen, and verified it as a winner.[43] Although game rules prohibited the transfer of prizes, McDonald’s waived the rule and has made the annual $50,000 annuity payments, even after learning that the piece was sent by an individual involved in an embezzlement scheme intended to defraud McDonald’s.[44]
vik_singh: I know this a long story but I feel like whenever St. Jude’s is mentioned I have to share it with others. First, not only are they leaders in pushing the envelope in childhood cancer treatment but St Jude’s also happens to be run by some of the kindest human beings on earth. This is a true story of hope for anyone that may find someone facing a disease with horrible odds.
My brother was riding his scooter on a busy street in India when one day when a bus crushed his ankle between the wheel and the foot pedal. Now you have a 15 year old in lying on a hospital bed getting treatment for his torn ankle that just wouldn’t get better. A few tests later, we found that he had leukemia.
My parents transferred him to one of the “best” cancer treatment hospitals in India (TATA). Here his health only got worse from his cancer treatment. Though he was too weak to walk, the doctor required that all patients come to his office to discuss updates. Yes, he was too busy to do rounds and the patients had to somehow make their way to him.
It was around this time that my aunt contacted St. Jude’s and informed them that she had a nephew dying of cancer in India and if they could help. Their response was simple – Get him here and we’ll handle the rest. They provided us with official letters that we could provide the US Embassy in Mumbai. The embassy issued a visa on a compassionate basis. Since he was too weak to travel, my dad even arranged for the doctor from the hospital to travel along to Memphis Tennessee.
Mind you by this point all our finances were gone. This was our least leap towards the unknown.
St. Jude’s sent a car to pick up my brother, his doctor and my mom. They knew time was of the essence. The moment my brother got to the hospital, the doctor (Dr. Santana) took one look at him and immediately says “The doctor’s in India have been treating him for the work type of leukemia”. The Indian doctor that was there in all his arrogance said that was impossible. They took my brother into a room and began unwrapping his bandage to take a look at his ankle injury. My mom and the other doctor were in another room where they could see what was happening through a glass window. At this point Dr. Santana gets down on his knee and starts cleaning my brother’s wound. With each swipe of the wound he pulls up debris with the sponge and shows it to my mom as proof of what a poor job of basic wound care the hospital in India had done.
Within no time his tests were back as well and Dr Santana’s hunch was true. Not only was my brother misdiagnosed with having the wrong type of Leukemia (there are two main types AML and ALL), they were also treating him for the wrong one. Dr. Santana was so angered by this he gave the Indian doctor an earful about how he showed no regard for the patient’s life. That doctor couldn’t say a word and took the first flight back to India.
At this point Dr. Santana turned to my mom and told her to take him home to die. The cancer and the treatment had left him so weak that treating him would probably mean death. My mom wouldn’t have it and said “Doctor, I didn’t come all the way here to see him die. Start his treatment and we will deal with whatever the consequence.”
I could write a whole book on how the rest of his story pans out but I will end the story with this. His recovery was so remarkable that he flies to St. Jude’s every year as part of a long term study to see how did he survive from such an advanced stage. He was what most call a “miraculous recovery”. This was over 30 years ago. He is now married, has a son and a happy healthy life.
I wish I could tell you little stories like how a nurse once got into her car and got him fried chicken because her patient who hadn’t eaten in days was craving KFC or stories about St. Peter’s home where St. Jude’s allowed my mom to live for free during the entire treatment period.
St. Jude’s took no money from us, treated us with the kind of love that I can’t even describe and not only gave my brother life, it gave us hope which is always in short supply in time’s of crisis.
I consider myself an atheist but I consider St. Jude’s the true patron of lost causes. And if you don’t believe me, just walk through their doors.
P.S. Please consider donating to them.
cato_iii: This is one of my favorite organizations to donate to. Keep up the good work!
gokatgo: Everything the learn, every protocol they develop.
THEY SHARE FOR FREE!!!
All cancer centers and cancer patients benefit from this research. Everywhere in the worl.
MostlyDumbHurrDurr: This is a wonderful organization. They charge $0 to the families of these brave children.
Consider [donating ](https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/donation.do?cID=14262&pID=24671&sc_icid=home-btn-donate-now&source_code=THWLANDDO18) to help these kids out this Christmas.
dmxio: Even in the 6 years since my boy finished treatment there have been amazing steps forward. We even participated in a few studies while on treatment to help bring these forward. Way to go to my boy for kicking cancers ass! He’s now 12 and doing great.
SplendidTit: So, yes, St. Jude has contributed to childhood cancer survival rates, for sure! But don’t forget there are *loads* of other orgs and scientists who work on those treatments as well!
theopinionateddude: That’s probably the best news to come out of Memphis since…. ever!!
everneveragain: Think what could have been done had Susan G Komen would had used that charitable money correctly
Barfhelmet: Donate to them every Christmas, have a friend whose sister is alive today because of St. Judes.
cheezymadman: St Jude: Patron Saint of lost causes. That’s a little fucked up.
Ice_BountyHunter: >Checks the comments for a negative story about St. Jude’s
Oh thank God.
Extrasketchy1: How do these rates compare to adult cancers?
_Mr-Skeltal_: St Jude doesn’t make it bad. They took a sad kid and made him better. The minute you let a IV under your skin, then you begin to make it better.
LeisRatio: Are you telling me that St. Jude’s hospital is really doing good work and I shouldn’t just have skipped on their ad? As in, I actually turned down children with cancer?
OKImightbeajunkie: It always sucks when your job pressures you to get people to buy x y or z, or donate to somewhere, as a lot of restaurants partner up with St. Jude (and other places). But this is probably the one place I actually got behind, because there’s just no selfish, greedy, bullshit involved, unlike so many other charities. The people that work hard for charities deserve to make money, but the families that go there do not have to pay a penny, they share the knowledge they learn for free, and so on. As far as I can tell, it’s a safe place to donate.
mclardass: St. Jude’s saved my life, thank you anonymous researchers! Two decades more life that I wouldn’t have had without your generosity and simple desire to help others. Thank you, from the bottom of my ticking heart, thank you.
Inactivated: St. Jude. Don’t make it bad.
Releaseform: So ya watch youtube Ads
pdqbpdqbpdqb: All successful treatments have helped push the survival rate to where it is now?
Title seems vague.
jdfreeze: This is definitely good news. I always feel a bit angry though. They weren’t able to help my nephew. I know it’s not their fault, but you can’t help but feel a bit bitter.
I suppose part of it is because of their efforts to treat him, what would have been pretty rapid was a prolonged, painful, powerless period filled with false hope, only to end with what you feared would happen all along.
I know that it is an unequivocal good, this work that St. Jude is doing. Can’t help but feel a bit of bitterness that Cameron could not be helped with that work. Selfish sure, but undoubtedly human.
catsmeowwrx: St Jude is an amazing place. I’ve been there several times for fundraising conferences. All of their research is free and open to the science community and have increased the survival of A LOT of common childhood cancers. But, you only get to go there if they’re researching the type of cancer you happen to have.
3ntl3r: I BET THE JEWS DID THIS!
thanks my cousins
daoldmanvillage2: I also order domino’s
MyNewAccount962: I always loved seeing the St. Jude commercials on T.V. Really captivating to get people to donate to them.
2001em2: ALSAC/St. Jude employee checking in. I love seeing all the stories and positive experiences!
To bring things back down to earth, this is the survival rate for the US. The world average is still basically the same as when the hospital opened. We are moving into international work, but it’s literally going to take everyone, not just us, to bring rates up across the globe.
I can honestly say mine and my immediate coworkers would be happy to close our doors one day because we are no longer needed. I have no idea or what I would do, but it would truly be the greatest day of my life.
cptGumrock: Bobby Bones!
datareinidearaus: I would wish all cancer research could be so successful
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bmj-podcast/id283916558?mt=2&i=1000393462629
student_activist: Meanwhile, there are hospitals in the US where the fatality rate for treatment is higher than that of the related cancer of patients.
Good for St. Judes, but why do we tolerate a system with such inconsistency, that only seems to reliably generate high profits?
Whalehumper: If you think this place is great check out CHOP…
silent_hill_bill: I really hope we find a cure soon, especially because childhood cancer rates are only going to go up. Getting cancer as a child is comparitively rare and from what I’ve read, cancer is not only heritable in general but also can be tied to an age range. So some genes cause a greater likelihood of cancer during childhood as opposed to old age. I hope this doesn’t sound insensitive, but there’s a reason childhood cancer has historically been rare. Patients pass away before they’re of reproductive age so they don’t pass on those genes.
Someone feel free to put me in my place if what I’m saying is way off base and insensitive. I know this thread is about the victory of modern treatment and I’m happy about that, I’m just adding a peripheral thought. Like I said, I really hope we find a cure very soon that doesn’t require such challenging ordeals and my heart goes out to those that have dealt with it directly or indirectly.
bareborn: should be the highest rated post ever!
Ujio2107: And guess what? It’s not run by the government, and it’s funded by donations of other people! And no family receives a bill!
It’s almost like….
People are generous with their money…
And the government have to be involved in healthcare for it to be successful!
enoctis: From what percentage, though? If it was 79% before, then their accomplishment is dismal. Without a baseline, this “headline” is moot.
DingDongInDaPingPong: So they helped childhood cancers survive? What kind of hospital is this?
Upnawf: How much does it take to cure it? Jeez
EdwinNJ: their incessant commercials ruin my life