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Your child has a fever, you get told it’s probably nothing, and then one morning everything changes. John and Renee join us to tell the story of their son Will’s diagnosis with stage four Wilms tumor, a rare pediatric kidney cancer, and the brutal speed at which normal life turns into ultrasounds, surgery, pathology reports, chemo, and radiation when the cancer has spread to the lungs. Hearing Renee describe that first hospital visit and John describe the phone call that snapped his world in half is the kind of honesty that stays with you.

We also get real about what people don’t see after the words “cancer free.” Remission still comes with scans, anxiety before checkups, and long-term side effects that can follow pediatric cancer survivors for years, from organ monitoring to secondary cancer risk. John shares how he shut down emotionally to keep the family moving, and we talk about how different grief styles can collide inside a marriage while you’re also raising a newborn and trying to keep life functioning.

Then we zoom out to the bigger fight: pediatric cancer research funding and why groups like Cancer Free Kids matter. We connect the dots between better funding and better, less toxic treatments for kids, and we invite you to show up for the Lemonade Stand fundraiser on August 2 (11 to 1 at Tupelo Honey on Lane Avenue) to help push that work forward.

If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more families find it when they need it most.

Donate directly to the Little Legends Lemonade stand here:
https://cfk.donordrive.com/campaigns/Little-Legends-Lemonade

Follow Keri:
Instagram: @keripcroft
The Keri Croft Show: @thekericroftshow
Website: kericroft.com

⚡️ If this episode hits something in you, please share it with a friend.
⚡️ Subscribe to The Keri Croft Show on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
⚡️ Leave a review if you’re feeling it.

And until next time… Keep Moving, baby!

Send us Fan Mail

A kid goes from running everywhere to barely being able to walk, and the first answers don’t point to cancer at all. That is the gut punch at the center of our conversation with Kim and her son, Max, as they walk us through the real timeline from “maybe it’s a sports injury” to a leukemia diagnosis and two and a half years of treatment. If you’ve ever felt dismissed by “normal” tests while your instincts say something is wrong, you’ll hear exactly why persistence matters and how fast life can change for a family facing pediatric cancer.

We get specific about what treatment looked like: intense pain, bone damage, spinal taps, anesthesia choices, and the brutal personality shifts that can come with steroids. Max shares the kid view with surprising wisdom, including how he handled fear and why recording a quick video after a procedure helped his future self stay calm. We also talk about school dynamics, what it feels like when someone says something cruel, and the small acts of protection and friendship that can make a hospital season less isolating.

Then we turn that hard-earned perspective into action. We’re inviting you to Little Legends Lemonade at Tupelo Honey on Lane Avenue on August 2nd from 11 to 1 to raise money for Cancer Free Kids, because research funding is how we get more effective and gentler treatments for children with cancer. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people show up for families who need it.

Donate directly to the Little Legends Lemonade stand here:
https://cfk.donordrive.com/campaigns/Little-Legends-Lemonade

Follow Keri:
Instagram: @keripcroft
The Keri Croft Show: @thekericroftshow
Website: kericroft.com

⚡️ If this episode hits something in you, please share it with a friend.
⚡️ Subscribe to The Keri Croft Show on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
⚡️ Leave a review if you’re feeling it.

And until next time… Keep Moving, baby!

Send us Fan Mail

Pediatric cancer is a gut punch most people can’t look at for long, and that discomfort has a cost. We sit down with Dr Dean Lee, Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, to talk about why kids’ cancer research is still massively underfunded and why community-driven giving is not a feel-good extra. It’s often the only way the next breakthrough gets its first chance.

We unpack the hard truth behind the pediatric cancer funding gap: fewer patients means fewer commercial incentives, and “trickle-down” solutions from adult oncology don’t always fit the diseases kids actually face. Dean explains why childhood cancer can be oddly invisible day to day, even though it remains a leading cause of death in children outside of accidents, and why foundations like Cancer Free Kids step in to fund the science that government grants won’t touch early on.

Then we get into hope with specifics. Dean walks us through what’s changing in cancer immunotherapy and cellular therapy, including why CAR T cell therapy was a game-changer in leukemias and lymphomas and why solid tumors have been so much harder. We also talk about what pilot grants really do, how a $50,000 award can create the preliminary data needed for major funding, and a real example involving CRISPR and natural killer cell research that grew into a much bigger research platform.

Join us for the third annual Little Legends Lemonade:

🍋 Sunday, August 2
🍋 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
🍋 Tupelo Honey on Lane Avenue
🍋 Goal: Raise $5,000 for CancerFreeKIDS

Donate, host a satellite stand, stop by for lemonade, or simply help us spread the word.

Every dollar helps put resources into the hands of brilliant people working to give kids their entire lives back.

Donate directly to the Little Legends Lemonade stand here:
https://cfk.donordrive.com/campaigns/Little-Legends-Lemonade

Follow Keri:
Instagram: @keripcroft
The Keri Croft Show: @thekericroftshow
Website: kericroft.com

⚡️ If this episode hits something in you, please share it with a friend.
⚡️ Subscribe to The Keri Croft Show on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
⚡️ Leave a review if you’re feeling it.

And until next time… Keep Moving, baby!