The first pediatric open-heart surgery. The first baby to be“ born twice” after an in utero surgical procedure. The advent of precision medicine, and the promise of personalized, custom therapies.
Then and now, these kinds of developments became medical turning points: catalysts that brought new possibilities to patients, revolutionized health outcomes and inspired future decades of innovation and advances.
Today, Children’ s Colorado is on the precipice of many equally powerful discoveries. Your giving helps make all of this possible.
Trailblazing Cancer and Blood Disorder Advances
In 1969, Children’ s Hospital Colorado opened its first oncology unit. There were few treatments for pediatric cancer at that time— and no cures. A patient diagnosed with the most common form of childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia( ALL), had just a 14 % chance of survival. That year, five children were treated for cancer at Children’ s Colorado.
Only one survived— an 11-year-old boy named Mark.
Mark had been feeling lethargic for some time, and a routine physical to join the Boy Scouts uncovered the cause: something was wrong with his blood. Doctors initially thought he was anemic, but after sending him to Children’ s Colorado, he was diagnosed with ALL and became one of the hospital’ s first pediatric oncology patients.
Mark being treated for leukemia in 1969.
Back then, little was understood about leukemia and other cancers. Mark’ s therapies were largely experimental because there was no standard protocol for treating kids with ALL. He received blood transfusions, radiation and a new chemotherapy drug— vincristine, now an essential part of leukemia therapy— that had been discovered just a few years earlier.
Mark’ s cancer went into remission relatively quickly, and he continued receiving treatment for five years, until he was declared cancer-free at age 16.
Now 67, Mark is grateful for the oncology treatments that were available to him then and is amazed by the progress that’ s been made in pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment. His experience with Children’ s Colorado has stuck with him his whole life.“ Even though it was a brand-new cancer program, without Children’ s Colorado, I wouldn’ t be around,” said Mark.
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