A Family Affair - St. Baldrick's

Editor’s note: Andy Lautzenheiser and his mom Kelly, an oncology nurse at Children’s, shave their heads every year to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit, volunteer charity that funds research to find cures to childhood cancer. We asked Andy to share with us why the event is so important to him and why he chooses to shave his head every year.

Hello All. My name is Andy and I wanted to share my story with St. Baldrick’s. You can raise money by having people donate money to your cause and at the end of the event you have your head shaved as a thanks to everyone. Right now I am 15 years old and this March will be my 4th year to shave my head for St. Baldrick's.

I first did it when I was in 6th grade when I heard that my mom was going to shave her head for St. Baldrick’s. My mom is a nurse practitioner at Children’s and takes care of kids with cancer. I thought it was a great idea, so I asked my mom if I could shave my head with her and she said I could if I really wanted to. So, for the next few months I grew out my hair until it was the day of the event. My goal was to raise $500 and at the end I raised $925! The event where you shave your head was amazing. It is a whole festivity where everyone that gets their head shaved goes on a stage and there is a ton of cheering. You tell everyone about yourself and then you get your head shaved while everyone cheers. Then you stay and watch everyone else get there head shaved. You get a t-shirt and pictures and then you get to go home with a great summer cut!

I was kind of nervous about what people would say when I went to school. The next Monday when I was walking into school I could tell that everyone was staring at me, and I was thinking that it was actually kind of cool. Through the day I got a bunch of comments like "did you lose a bet?" or "you have cancer!" and they were kind of getting annoying but I didn't really care about what people thought about me and after I told them that I shaved my head to raise money to find a cure for kids cancer everyone went pretty quiet about their comments after that.

It feels great having no hair because you feel a lot lighter and your head is cooler. It was so much fun that I have been shaving my head every year since. One year there was a kid at my school that had cancer, I asked him to shave my head for St. Baldrick’s that year which was really fun. I love shaving my head for this good cause and I will continue to do this every year.    

Why One Doctor is Shaving Her Head

Editor’s note: Dr. Rachel Thienprayoon, a second-year pediatric oncologist at Children's Medical Center, shares the special reasons why she is raising money and shaving her head March 31 at an event put on by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit, volunteer charity that funds research to find cures to childhood cancer.

My first experience with St. Baldrick's was during my residency in general pediatrics at Children's, about four years ago. A group of oncology fellows, including Dr. Martha Stegner, shaved their heads for St. Baldrick's. I thought it was so amazing that “Dr. Martha” was willing to go bald for her patients! As I applied for my fellowship in pediatric oncology, I thought about St. Baldrick's and whether someday, I would want to do the same.

During my first year as a pediatric oncology fellow, four of my beautiful, spirited and brilliant patients died of their cancer. I was very close to one patient in particular, a teenage girl named Micaela White. Micaela was diagnosed with cancer just before her 18th birthday. I remember how difficult our first conversation was about her diagnosis. I was amazed by her calm demeanor and poise. She maintained that tremendous grace throughout all phases of her treatment. As her cancer progressed, she had many complications, but still her spirit remained strong and courageous. One of my best days as a doctor was when I told her that she could go to her high school graduation. To be honest, we both cried!

Micaela lost her battle with cancer last fall. I think of her often, and I always remember the look of clear determination on her face during our first conversation. It reminds me of how determined we all must be in the fight against pediatric cancer. I believe that in my lifetime, we will be able to cure all children's cancer. But the only way this will be possible is through continuing aggressive research efforts to find a cure.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a unique organization in so many ways. They provide funding only to pediatric cancer research. They provide research grants both nationally and locally and they even support research projects led by fellows like me. Today, the St. Baldrick's Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization other than the U.S. government.

I am very lucky to say that St. Baldrick’s is funding my current research project on hospice use in pediatric oncology patients. As I wrote my thank you note to St. Baldrick's donors and participants, I realized how deeply touched I am by those who give their time and energy in the fight against kids cancer. I understand why Dr. Stegner and so many of our colleagues volunteer in the St. Baldrick's event each year. I needed to participate too!

I feel like my role in this event is easy: I just show up and get a haircut. It is our sponsors and donors who are the critical link in this event. So many lives have been touched by pediatric cancer, and I am so grateful to each donor who is willing to support our patients in the fight for a cure. I hope that the determination Micaela inspired in me will be shared with readers of this article, and they might consider donating to St. Baldrick’s or attending the event. It is only by working together that we will achieve our goal of curing all children affected by cancer.

A big thank you 191 new registrants!

The 21st annual Be The Match Bone Marrow Drive was quite the success yesterday, and we want to thank the 191 people that came out to our Dallas and Legacy hospitals and joined the Marrow Registry. That means potentially 191 children could receive a life-saving bone marrow or stem cell transplant.

For those of you who still want to get on the registry and be available to save a life, Children's will pay for your online registration through Feb. 29. To send away for a free kit, visit http://marrow.org/Join/Join_Now/Join_Now.aspx and enter the coupon code "childrens."

Many thanks again. We would love to hear from those of you that came out the drive yesterday and what made you want to join the registry.

Getting messy for a cause

Jude Cobler’s life is sanitized for his own protection. Not much can be messy and that’s hard for a kid. But a couple of days ago, Jude got to be just the opposite of neat.

Jude, a patient at Children’s, underwent a bone marrow transplant in December 2010 and still has to be careful about his exposure to infection, but the other day he got to dip his hand in paint and squish it on a bright and shiny new car. The finger painting outing was part of a presentation for pediatric cancer research by Dallas-Fort Worth-area Hyundai dealers.

The dealers brought a white Santa Fe SUV to the hospital and encouraged patients to plant their hand prints on the car. The idea was to celebrate the children’s lives and to have them share their stories with children and families across the country that are participating in similar events for the carmaker’s Hope on Wheels program, which has raised funds for childhood cancer research initiatives for the past 13 years. The hand prints also were put on paper and will be made into decals for display by Hyundai dealers across America next year.

Grant for research

The hand prints were part of a ceremony by the area Hyundai dealers to award a $40,000 grant to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for Dr. Raven Cooksey. Dr. Cooksey is a fellow at UT Southwestern in pediatric hematology-oncology. She practices at Children’s in the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Children’s is where UT Southwestern doctors learn advanced pediatric medicine. The grant money is part of $2.7 million that the Hope on Wheels Tour will donate this year to back pediatric cancer research nationally.

Dr. Cooksey’s research is on metabolic syndrome in young survivors of brain tumors who were treated with radiation. Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of health risk factors that can lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Dr. Cooksey is studying whether radiation may lead to metabolic syndrome.

But for Jude, the day was all about telling his story and spreading some bright green paint around. And if you remember at all what it’s like being a 6 year old, you know how important that is.