Founded in 1981 as Leukemia, Research, Life (IRL), the nonprofit organization now known as Kids Without Cancer is a major contributor to pediatric cancer research. Since its inception, the nonprofit has been raising money to fund research at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, the only hospital in Michigan dedicated to treating children, and one of the best in the United States.
In 1981, a group of parents who had children being treated at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan decided to establish an organization to raise funds for cancer research. The organization’s efforts have contributed to impressive results, including an increase in the average survival rate of children diagnosed with cancer. In 1981, only 50 percent of children with a cancer diagnosis would survive. Four decades later, the survival rate had reached 80 percent.
While research has progressed in recent years, in the US, cancer remains a leading cause of death among children when it comes to disease. Every day, an average of 32 children are diagnosed with cancer. And while the survival rate has increased, 20 to 25 percent of children with cancer are not cured.
The efforts of Kids Without Cancer and the cutting-edge research done by the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and its affiliates, Wayne State University and the Karmanos Cancer Institute, are crucial for treating childhood cancer and increasing the chances of survival. Anyone can support the nonprofit by either volunteering or donating.
