January 28, 2019

The waiting room and infusion area of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers turned into a full-fledged Houston Astros fan fest last week when players Tony Kemp and Robinson Chirinos as well as Orbit, the team’s mascot, came through to brighten the days of many of our patients and their families.

The visit was part of the Houston Astros Caravan, a yearly event that occurs prior to the onset of spring training to pump up fans for the upcoming season. Presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, this year’s caravan kicked off January 22 and ended January 24 with stops in cities across Texas.

“The caravan is our last push to get people excited about the upcoming season,” said Rachel Bubier, an Astros community relations representative. “We are delighted that Texas Children’s is one of our stops.”

For more than an hour on the 14th floor of Wallace Tower, Chirinos and Kemp hugged, high-fived, visited with and took selfies with patients and families awaiting treatment or appointments in the Cancer Center. The players also decorated ball caps and pennants with the children and families.

The supplies for the art projects were provided by the Sunshine Kids Foundation, which has a partnership with the Astros to provide regular visits to Houston area children’s hospitals. The group’s aim is to provide patients and families with exciting, positive group activities, so they can have fun and celebrate life, even in the hospital.

“The caravan is a great opportunity for patients and families to break away while waiting for their treatment or for an appointment with their physician,” said Jennifer Wisler, director of children’s services with the Sunshine Kids Foundation. “We are thankful for the team’s dedication to such a worthwhile cause.”

Maria Lujan said the visit from the Astros and Sunshine Kids was a pleasant surprise, especially for her 7-year-old son Sam Lujan, who has been coming to the Cancer Center since May.

“When they have events like this it’s so nice,” Lujan said. “It distracts him from what he’s going though while he’s here.”

Dr. Susan Blaney, director of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, attended the event and said respites such as these are greatly appreciated.

“Our patients, families and staff work hard each and every day to combat cancer,” Blaney said. “Adding some fun to that hard work is always a bonus, and we are thankful that the Astros and Sunshine Kids provided that opportunity.”

The 2017 World Series champs Houston Astros will start their new season March 28 on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The first home game will be April 5 against their American League West rival Oakland A’s.

January 15, 2019

Texas Children’s Cancer Center recently honored Senior Project Manager Robin Raesz-Martinez with the Bravo Award for her work with the KidsCanSeq Project, which investigates how tumor genetics may help inform treatment decisions and the impact of genetic findings on cancer surveillance, genetic testing and health care utilization.

The Bravo Awards are a new quarterly award aimed at recognizing members of the Cancer Center who go above and beyond to ensure our patients and families receive the best possible care.

Raesz-Martinez’s nominees praised her tireless work with our patients, her role in managing the KidsCanSeq project, as well as her teaching, not only Cancer Center staff, but staff across the state who are collaborating with Texas Children’s on this project.

Congratulations!

January 7, 2019

On January 1, 2019, Dr. Rajkumar Venkatramani assumed the role of director of the Solid Tumor Program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Venkatramani, associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist who is internationally recognized for his expertise in the care of children with pediatric solid tumors.

Dr. Murali Chintagumpala, who has served as director of both the Solid Tumor and Neuro-Oncology programs for many years, will continue to serve as director of the Neuro-Oncology Program, and will continue to play an integral role in the Solid Tumor Program.

Venkatramani completed his pediatric training at Kings College in London and obtained membership in the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health. He completed another pediatric residency at University of Illinois College of Medicine and a fellowship in pediatric hematology oncology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Venkatramani served on the faculty at University of Southern California for three years prior to joining the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Cancer Center in 2014.

At Texas Children’s, Venkatramani has been instrumental in developing a rare tumors program. He has established a national registry for children with rare tumors that will provide important data to physician scientists as they work to find a cure for these often times difficult to treat cancers.

Venkatramani is also a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Renal Tumor Committee, where he is actively involved in developing a national clinical trial for children with a type of recurrent or relapsed kidney tumor known as Wilms tumor.

Venkatramani has published more than 60 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and has been a recipient of numerous awards, including: The Walter Laug Distinguished Teacher Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Guidance and Inspiration and Outstanding Resident Teacher Award. In 2017, he was appointed to the editorial board of Pediatric Blood and Cancer, the premier publication that focuses on laboratory and clinical investigations for children and adolescents with cancer or blood disorders.

“I am extremely excited to have Dr. Venkatramani transition into this leadership role, as his expertise in solid tumors will serve our patients and program well,” said Dr. Susan Blaney, director of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers. “I am also very appreciative of the leadership that Dr. Chintagumpala has provided to the Solid Tumor Program for many years and pleased that he will continue to be actively involved in this program as well as to continue to lead the Neuro-Oncology Program as well as play a leadership role in other Center activities.”

December 3, 2018

A muralist’s vision to transform the concourse of Wallace Tower into a vibrant piece of art has finally come true.

With the help of the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts, the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program and an anonymous donor, the concourse is now covered in large colorful paintings of dinosaurs, hearts, unicorns, spaceships, rainbows and more.

“As cars pull up, they’re greeted with this vibrant story that’s almost like a seek-and-find,” said Carol Herron, coordinator of the Periwinkle Arts in Medicine Program. “Can you find the dinosaur? Can you find the ship? It’s just something that’s inviting and really full of life, just like the hospital is.”

Patients with Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers as well as children who have spent time on Texas Children’s Hospital’s Renal Dialysis Unit created the bulk of the artwork represented in the mural. Pediatric patients from Foundation Lenval Children’s Hospital in Nice, France pitched in too, coming up with the portion of the mural that portrays a globe with a bridge going from Texas to France.

Texan-French Alliance for the Arts Executive and Program Director Karine Parker-Lemoyne and her colleague, Marjon Aucoin, art director for the W.I.D.E. School, organized the collaboration with the patients in Nice and facilitated workshops with patients at Texas Children’s to create the artwork for the mural.

Sebastien Boileau, a French-American muralist with Houston-based Eyeful Art Murals and Designs, then took the art, and with a handful of his fellow muralists, replicated it onto the walls of the Wallace Tower concourse.

“We didn’t put our artistic ego into it,” Boileau said. “We really tried to respect their vision, copying it stroke for stroke, discrepancies and all.”

View the professional and patient artists at work below.

Boileau, who has created some of Houston’s most-famed mural art, said the vision for the project, called “The Door to Hope,” came to him five years ago when he was visiting his friend whose child just had heart surgery. During his visit, he passed through the Wallace Tower concourse, which at the time was a blank canvas.

Being a muralist who likes to decorate large spaces, Boileau said he saw a lot of opportunity and took his idea to the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts. They in turn reached out to Texas Children’s. Once funding was secure, the project was green lighted and completed in just a few months.

During the painting process, Isaac Bogani, the patient Boileau went to visit in the hospital years earlier, joined the artist and helped him replicate a heart he created for the project. The experience was special for both Isaac and Boileau.

“This project is very dear to me,” Boileau said. “I’m really excited about it.”

Both Boileau and the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts have long-standing relationships with Texas Children’s. Boileau painted the mural featured at the playground adjacent to the Abercrombie Building. The Texan-French Alliance for the Arts has worked on various projects with the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program at the hospital over the past decade.

“We love working with Texas Children’s,” Parker-Lemoyne said. “This project has been amazing. It really honors the work of the children we worked with and exudes love, wonder and hope.”

November 19, 2018

Over 300 miles away from Texas Children’s Hospital is the Vannie Cook Children’s Clinic. Located in McAllen, Texas, the facility is an extension of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, dedicated solely to pediatric cancer and blood disorders in the Rio Grande Valley.

The clinic opened in 2001, as a joint venture between a local foundation, the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Cancer Foundation, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. Since then, more than 9,500 families have found the care they need right where they need it most – in their own backyard.

“Before we arrived, most of the local children with cancer and blood disorders had to travel several hours to and from San Antonio or Houston for treatment,” said the clinic’s medical director Dr. Juan Carlos Bernini. “This region didn’t have any pediatric cancer facilities, and there were no pediatric oncologists or hematologists regularly practicing close by.”

During the first year of operation, clinic staff expected to see about 100 patients. Instead, they saw more than 400. “It was obvious how critical our presence was, but the community thankfully trusted and bolstered our ability to serve them,” said Bernini.

Comprehensive care

Texas Children’s/Baylor College of Medicine physicians staff the clinic in the only comprehensive pediatric cancer and hematology center in South Texas.

“The clinic has grown from a small group of providers into a top-notch team of physicians, nurses, social workers, clinic technicians and administrative supporters, all committed to delivering the newest and most advanced therapies to our young patients,” Bernini said. “Our commitment to the patient and family starts at diagnosis and continues throughout treatment and beyond. Most importantly, we’re able to forge exciting paths for long-term survivorship with our patients every day.”

The outpatient clinic is comprised of over 10,000 square feet of space with two waiting rooms, seven exam rooms, two procedure rooms, two phlebotomy stations, two laboratories and a large infusion suite divided into areas for toddlers, young children and adolescents, respectively.

In addition to offering diagnostic and cancer treatment services, the clinic offers a long term survivor program which follows childhood cancer survivors through adulthood, and a research program that offers participation in epidemiology studies and clinical trials.

As a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), we are able to provide local children with critical access to clinical trials. This is particularly important since a large portion of the population that we treat is Hispanic, a population that is generally under-represented in clinical trials.

Still growing

Leaders with the Vannie Cook Children’s Clinic and its partners are always evaluating the services provided at the clinic and are constantly striving to deliver the best care possible to the children served in the Rio Grande Valley.

Dr. David Poplack, associate director of the Cancer and Hematology Centers and director of Global HOPE, helped pave the way for the partnership between Texas Children’s and the Vannie Cook Foundation. He has always said that supporting the clinic was and continues to be the right thing to do.

“At Texas Children’s we believe our responsibility to care for children doesn’t begin and end with those who are able to come to us for help,” Poplack said. “We have an obligation to identify and address critical gaps in coverage whether they are near or far.”

October 23, 2018

The Periwinkle Foundation and Texas Children’s Hospital have teamed up with H-E-B to offer limited-edition reusable shopping bags featuring original Making A Mark artwork created by children touched by cancer and blood disorders at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers. Just in time for the holidays, the bags will be sold in various H-E-B locations in the Houston and McAllen area as an effort to help raise awareness about childhood cancer.

“We are proud to partner with H-E-B to create these unique grocery bags that spotlight two very special pieces of original artwork created by these young artists,” said Erin Locke, Community Programs Director at The Periwinkle Foundation. “Raising awareness about childhood cancer is so important, and we are very grateful that H-E-B has joined us in this initiative to help spread the word.”

The one-of-a-kind shopping bags highlight artwork from past Making A Mark artists, Bethany and Blanca. Lost in the Sunflowers by Bethany, 12, showcases a young boy in a cowboy hat admiring a vibrant sunflower in a sea of rich foliage while Untitled by Blanca, 15, depicts the different outlooks on life by showcasing the positive and negative through bright and dark colors.

“This project is meaningful to H-E-B Partners (employees) who have volunteered with The Periwinkle Foundation’s Arts in Medicine program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers,” said Lacey Dalcour-Salas, H-E-B Public Affairs. “We have showcased patient artwork through the Making A Mark exhibition at two of our store locations and look forward to sharing their inspiration with our customers while increasing awareness of childhood cancer with the creation of this reusable bag.”

Since 2001, The Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program at Texas Children’s has brought unique opportunities for self-expression, empowerment and development of coping skills to patients and their families while enhancing the healing environment and treatment experience in a variety of settings including outpatient and inpatient care areas. Periwinkle’s Arts and Creative Writing Program culminates each year in Making A Mark®, a travelling exhibition of more than 350 pieces of art and creative writing by children and teens touched by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

These limited-edition bags will be available for sale at more than 30 H-E-B locations across Houston while supplies last.

October 16, 2018

On October 12, hundreds of guests attended the 11th annual Celebration of Champions fashion show and luncheon at River Oaks Country Club to honor event participants and to raise money for Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

During the event, pediatric cancer patients and survivors from Texas Children’s Cancer Center were escorted down the runway by local philanthropists or “Community Champions.” One patient, Max Boatwright, walked with our very own therapy dog, Elsa, who was guided by Animal Assisted Therapy Coordinator Sarah Herbek.

“This event really demonstrates the progress we’ve made in the treatment of childhood cancer, and it celebrates our patients, who are our champions,” said Dr. Susan Blaney, director of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers. “We’re also so grateful for the community of Houston, which so strongly supports our mission, and we’re celebrating those champions today as well.”

The event was chaired by Sidney Faust, Judi McGee, Elsie Eckert and Scott Basinger, who have overseen the luncheon each year since its inception. Thanks to underwriting by Faust Distributing Company and Mach Industrial Group, Inc., each patient was able to keep his or her hand-picked outfit – much to the delight of the models.

All funds raised during the luncheon will benefit Texas Children’s Cancer Center’s Long-Term Survivor Program, one of the nation’s only long-term childhood cancer survivor programs that sees survivors through adulthood. Today, more than 30,000 long-term pediatric cancer survivors nationwide are enrolled in Texas Children’s Passport for Care, an online resource developed at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine that provides individualized health care information to guide care for effects from childhood cancer treatment.