Pediatric Cancer Research

Pediatric cancers occur in children and adolescents from 0-19 years old. While adults and children do share some cancer types, they are not treated for the disease in the same way. Because children are smaller and often still growing, they face unique challenges when diagnosed with cancer.

More than 15,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed each year with cancer in the U.S. The number of children who die every year from cancer has decreased over the last 40+ years, but we still lose nearly 2,000 children from cancer each year. Cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death for American children over one year old.

Dick Vitale Fund for Pediatric Cancer

Your donations to the Dick Vitale Pediatric Fund at the V Foundation support innovative pediatric cancer research. Through this fund, the V Foundation has awarded more than $55 million to end pediatric cancer.

Not long after losing his friend and fellow broadcaster Jim Valvano to cancer, Dick Vitale made a commitment to stop the disease. He is a long-time V Foundation Board member and a passionate advocate for pediatric cancer research.

Dick has hosted an annual Gala for 16 years and raised more than $40 million to fund research for childhood cancer. He has an unmatched energy and has described himself as obsessed with cancer research funding.

Dick has often proclaimed he will continue to raise money for kids with cancer “until his last breath.” He is truly a champion!

About Pediatric Cancer Research

Research has made substantial progress in treatments for pediatric cancer, and survival rates are increasing. But our work is not done. We still lose far too many children to the disease. Just 4% of federal cancer research dollars are allocated to studying childhood cancers. Private funding is a critical component of advancing treatments for kids with cancer.

We need more answers to save more lives: Why do children develop cancer? How can we create safe and effective treatments for them? How can we ensure their long-term health and wellness after cancer?

Your donation to pediatric cancer research will enable researchers to do amazing things, like:

• Reduce the long-term side effects of cancer and its treatments
  • Ewelina Bolcun-Filas, Ph.D., from The Jackson Laboratory is working to find better ways to protect the reproductive health of young cancer patients.
• Create therapies designed specifically for children
  • Miguel Rivera, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital is designing new therapies for pediatric cancer by uncovering how mutations can lead to changes in gene expression.
• Give the precious gift of more time to children and their families suffering from this horrible disease
  • Michael Deel, M.D., from Duke Cancer Institute has dedicated his career to studying one of the most difficult and aggressive childhood cancers with a goal of giving patients a better shot at a long and healthy life.

Champions for Pediatric Cancer Research

The V Foundation is proud to work with many partners to advance research for pediatric cancers. Our shared goal is to stop childhood cancers. With their help, we have awarded nearly $50 million in pediatric research grants.

Learn about the work and initiatives lead by each of our Champions for Pediatric Cancer Research.

Pediatric Cancer Heroes

There are more than 400,000 survivors of childhood cancer in the U.S.

Meet a few of these courageous kids.