Transforming Care

kidsSTRONG seeks to transform childhood cancer experience by creating credible health, business and operations models that vastly improve the survivors quality of life and experience of care. kidsSTRONG approach is unique in that we connect our work to caring companies and influence systems change for sustainable and scalable improvements in care.

Childhood cancer is a family crisis fought every day on American soil. More children still die from cancer than any other disease. This year, 13,000 new children will be told they have cancer in the US alone. They face aggressive treatments and chronic health issues as a direct result of cancer treatment. One third will face death each year. Their lives and the lives of their 90,000 family members will change forever.

There have been dramatic improvements in both treatment and survival of childhood cancer in recent decades, in some cases reaching 70% or more. However, increased survival rates also bring potentially debilitating effects, such as neuropsychological deficits, endocrine dysfunction or subsequent cancers. The life threatening nature of the disease often requires major shifts in lifestyle, psychological and social realities leading to isolation and hopelessness. The problem is further complicated today by the disaggregated sources of information and vast support disparities across the child and family cancer experience.

Most children and their families lack the coping skills, strategies and resources to respond to this extremely stressful life event. The problem is particularly acute in paternalistic health care settings, where the system places priority on just treating the medical disease and not the whole child and family first.

kidsSTRONG works to transform the childhood cancer experience by empowering cancer survivors, children’s heath entrepreneurs and healthcare professionals connecting our work to caring corporations and systems change by developing credible health, business and operations models for family centered care.

kidsSTRONG is a registered tax exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation based in California. kidsSTRONG was established in 2008 by parents who had children touched by cancer and concerned healthcare professionals. kidsSTRONG is the leading national organization focused solely on accelerating comprehensive cancer care communications and research for kids touched by cancer so all children are inspired, supported, and empowered to deal with care, treatment and survivorship on their terms.

We are the proud San Francisco Bay Area affiliate of Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, a national organization based in Maryland.