Landon Vargas was born on November 26, 2006. He was the oldest son of Beth and Ariel Vargas, and the playful older brother to three siblings. Landon loved to play sports and he always competed with determination, enthusiasm and a smile on his face. Whether winning or losing, Landon’s contagious laughter and positive attitude never wavered. 

In 2009, on Landon’s fourth birthday, he was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma cancer. On this day, our lives were forever changed. Upon his diagnosis, a five-year and nine-day long battle began, not only for Landon, but for all those who loved him. What began as what we thought was a normal earache led us to an ultrasound at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and then to a biopsy where we were told, “your child has cancer and it is a very rare form.”

There were an endless number of meetings with doctors to explore different treatment options, and planning for what we were told would be a long and hard road. During the next five years, Landon endured numerous chemotherapy treatments, surgeries, two rounds of proton radiation and several clinical trials. We received opinions and treatments throughout the United States from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, Nemours Alfred/Dupont Hospital for Children, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Boston Children’s Hospital, Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York, St. Jude’s Hospital for Children in Tennessee, and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. One of Landon’s most incredible and memorable experiences occurred on September 26, 2015 when he received a personal blessing from Pope Francis in Philadelphia. Pope Francis held Landon in his arms, rubbed his head, kissed him several times and gave him a Papal Blessing.

In life, Landon competed on a much higher level. He battled his disease with a light heart, courage well beyond his years and always with an endless smile! Landon was so brave in every circumstance but sadly, after a five-year battle, Landon passed away nine days after his ninth birthday in 2015. Landon was, and continues to be, an inspiration to us all!

Over the course of our journey, we eventually found ourselves out of chemotherapy options. The old treatments had proven to be unsuccessful and nothing new had been developed. We moved on to many different clinical trials but one after another proved ineffective. Some of these trials would treat the tumor but would shoot incredibly high amounts of toxins in our son’s already frail body causing devastating side effects. After years of exhausting every other treatment option, these are the decisions and choices we were forced to make. Like many families, our experience has left us with an emptiness that will never be filled, but we strive to work with CureSearch in an effort to help other families that are currently battling this disease with their child. That is why we are wholeheartedly behind CureSearch, because they provide parents with hope with their cutting-edge research. 

The post CureSearch Forever Hero: Landon Vargas appeared first on CureSearch for Children's Cancer.

Pam Shrauger has been a longtime supporter of CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, and is an advocate for childhood cancer research. Pam and her family walked 50 miles for the CureSearch Mile for Child Challenge where friends, family, and members of the community are challenged to walk 10, 30 or 100 miles in 30 days to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer. 

For the Shrauger family, the miles were personal. Nearly ten years ago, Pam’s son Caden was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma, a solid tumor that affects 3.8 percent of all children with cancer.  

The family needed to be within an hour of the hospital where Caden was being treated – 700 miles away. They spent 17 months far away from home while Caden underwent chemotherapy and surgery. “Caden’s battle with cancer touched every facet of our lives; nothing was undisturbed,” Pam said.  

Caden didn’t respond well to treatment so the family tried MIBG therapy, which minimized his disease enough for a stem cell transplant, radiation and immunotherapy. Follow up appointments over the next four years occasionally showed minimal disease, but Caden is now cancer free. 

“He is doing well now with annual survivorship check-ups and is considered cancer free!” said Pam. “Despite some late effects of treatment, Caden is doing extraordinary today, thanks to the efforts of so many. Cures are so desperately needed and research is the only way we’ll get there. We’ll always pour our passion into the effort to cure more children.” 

Today, Caden is a happy, healthy 13-year-old who enjoys hiking, backpacking, playing the drums and wake surfing.  

CureSearch is on a mission to end childhood cancer and funds research that will quickly translate to new treatments for kids like Caden. Often times, treatment options like chemotherapy have lasting side effects that impact a child’s future health and well-being. CureSearch works to address this urgent, unmet need for less-toxic, more effective pediatric cancer treatments.  

Have you or a loved one been impacted by childhood cancer? Share your story with us! Submit a story today to be featured on the CureSearch Heroes blog and Facebook page. curesearch.org/Share-Your-Story  

To learn more about how you can support the search for new cures and treatments for childhood cancer, visit curesearch.org/get-involved.  

The post Walking for Caden – 50 miles in 30 days appeared first on CureSearch for Children's Cancer.

This September, families, friends and communities across the country will come together (virtually) for the National CureSearch Walk to honor and remember those affected by childhood cancer.  

The CureSearch Walk raises funds to accelerate the development of new and less-toxic pediatric cancer treatments. Most current standard childhood cancer treatments were developed before 1990. Our kids deserve better. That’s why CureSearch is working to bring children to the forefront of new drug development to deliver better treatment options to those who need them most.  

National CureSearch Walk sponsor, Parexel, has a similar mission and provides a suite of clinical research services that help life sciences and biopharmaceutical companies across the globe transform scientific discoveries into new treatments.  

“As a leading clinical research organization, Parexel is committed to making a difference in patients’ lives and collaborating with organizations who also keep the patient at the heart of everything they do,” said Katherine Minson, Medical Director and Pediatric Oncologist at Parexel and member of CureSearch’s Industry Advisory Council. “Parexel is delighted to sponsor CureSearch’s 2021 National Walk and join this important effort to provide research funding to find new safe and effective treatments for children with cancer.” 

Register today to walk from any location and support our mission to end childhood cancer! We’re going live on Facebook September 25 at 11 a.m. EST to kick off the National Walk and honor childhood cancer fighters and survivors. Like us on Facebook to tune in. 

The post CureSearch National Walk Sponsor Highlight: Parexel appeared first on CureSearch for Children's Cancer.