What do you want people to know during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month & Sickle Cell Awareness Month?
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. More than 17,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States each year, and many more across the world. We are fortunate that today approximately 80% of those are able to be cured of their disease. These successes have been made possible through collaborative research efforts dating back over the past 50 years, and we are so fortunate to the patients and families who have participated in clinical trials to help improve these outcomes. However, despite our steady improvement in survival over time, many children still do not achieve a cure, and those who do can face life-long complications of their treatments. I am truly honored to provide care to patients and families affected by childhood cancers and look forward to the future when we can provide a happy and healthy outcome for all.
September is also Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month. There are more than 100,000 people living with sickle cell disease in the United States, out of which 9 out of 10 are Black or have African ancestry. Sickle cell disease is typically diagnosed at birth through routine blood testing, and is a life-long disease known for causing anemia and bouts of debilitating pain. However, sickle disease also affects the entire body and can lead to severe infection, heart and lung problems, early stroke, and many other complications that greatly impact daily life. During September, I am privileged to acknowledge our many patients living with sickle cell disease and fighting for new and improved treatments to one day live free of symptoms.
What do you want people to know about your specialty?
As a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and stem cell transplant physician, I am grateful every day to help improve the lives of children and young adults living with cancer and non-malignant blood disorders such as sickle cell disease. At Yale and across the country, we are constantly searching for new and better therapy options to treat these devastating illnesses, and I am always excited to be able to offer these to our patients. As part of the bone marrow/stem cell transplantation service, we are proud to offer transplantation and cell therapy options to patients with certain high-risk or recurrent cancers, and to provide curative therapies for sickle cell disease, such as bone marrow transplant or now even corrective gene therapies.