Brooke Barkan (13) from Canal Fulton will be beaming with pride on Aug. 12 as the RubberDucks baseball team takes to the field in a jersey she designed as part of the Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders’ annual patient celebration event. The RubberDucks selection team chose her design out of 42 entries, double […]
Meet some of our cancer and blood disorder patients and learn about the Akron Children's Hospital Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders.
Pano is seeing cancer care from a new perspective
Five summers ago, Pano Tsarouhas (18) came to the Shower’s Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders as a patient. He’s back at Akron Children’s this summer, but now he’s learning what it’s like to sit across from patients as a provider. “I wanted to shadow Dr. Hord to help me evaluate different paths […]
Local teen celebrates high school milestones while living with sickle cell disease
Dazuan Kidd isn’t unlike other 18-year-olds who recently attended their proms and high school graduations. What makes this recent Kenmore-Garfield High School grad different is he lives with a painful genetic condition called sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder that causes red blood cells to become misshapen or “sickled” […]
Cancer journey helps 19-year-old rediscover his love of learning
Valentine’s Day 2020 is forever etched into Chad Bigley’s mind and not for the reason one might expect. Instead of spending the day with his high school girlfriend, Chad, age 17, was sitting with his family in orthopedic oncologist Dr. Scott Weiner’s office where he had just been officially diagnosed with osteosarcoma (the most common […]
Jackie’s journey: From cancer patient to survivor
As an athlete, patient or coach, Jackie Custer believes in the mantra there is no ‘I’ in team. Growing up, Jackie learned how to win games with her teammates. As she faced her own battle with cancer, she relied on her Akron Children’s care team to get her to the finish line. Today, at 24, […]
Growing up, but not out of a bleeding disorder
From the outside, kids affected by bleeding disorders appear well but, on the inside, these conditions can damage joints or organs and require ongoing medical care. For parents, the other side effect of these conditions is the stress and anxiety they can bring as children learn to navigate their treatment plan independently. Colton Clites, now […]
