In January, Dieter and Lyse Jahnke announced a transformative donation of $5 million to Children’s Health Foundation to focus on paediatric oncology care at Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre.
Their generous donation has funded the establishment of the Jahnke Family Paediatric Oncology Centre of Excellence at Children’s Hospital.
At a recent Children’s Hospital event for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we learned a few details about how the Jahnke Family Paediatric Oncology Centre of Excellence is coming together. We were also given a glimpse at what the future holds for paediatric oncology at Children’s Hospital — as well as a promising breakthrough in the care of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children.
“It truly is an amazing time in paediatric oncology, not only as a discipline but for our own local team,” said Dr. Alexandra Zorzi, Head of Paediatric Oncology at Children’s Hospital.
“This summer has marked a transformation in paediatric oncology care. We have borne witness here, locally, to a paradigm shift in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), such that I truly believe that we will see a time when there is a true cure for ALL.”
As Dr. Zorzi explained, the paediatric oncology team at Children’s Hospital participated in large clinical trials that have shown considerable promise for paediatric ALL patients.
“I am so proud to say that Children’s Hospital was able to successfully pivot and ensure that our current patients can reap the rewards of those gains with the administration of immunotherapy together with traditional chemotherapy for the treatment of childhood ALL,” she said.
ALL is the most common form of leukemia in children, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
As part of the vision for the Jahnke Family Paediatric Oncology Centre of Excellence recruitment of key additional staff has already begun, including a new paediatric oncology pharmacy specialist.
Another key part of the Jahnke Family Paediatric Oncology Centre of Excellence is working towards establishing “a full, localized ambulatory and in-patient space for the care of children and families affected by childhood cancer — not only for our patients today, but most importantly for those we have yet to meet,” Dr. Zorzi said.
As Dr. Marta Wilejto, paediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital, and Andrew Arifin, radiation oncologist at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at LHSC explained, adolescents and young adults with cancer will receive particular focus in the future with the formation of a dedicated program that spans both Children’s Hospital and the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre.
“This is the first part of a larger vision to ensure that patients receive the best care regardless of how old they are or where they are treated,” Andrew said.
No matter what changes are on the way, delivering the best possible care to kids and families remains central to Dr. Zorzi and her team.
Brian Ward, whose 12-year-old son Felix received a cancer diagnosis earlier this year, shared how the paediatric oncology team won their family over.
“In the beginning [Dr. Zorzi] said to us, ‘Our family is now a part of my family.’ I didn’t want to hear that. I didn’t want to be a part of this community. I didn’t want to be affected by this. I’d support it, but I didn’t think that we’d be going through this. I just wanted it all to go away.
“She also said that she’s not going anywhere, and she’s been with us this whole time, through all of Felix’s treatments.
“We are now glad that you are a part of our family,” Brian said, addressing Dr. Zorzi.
Dr. Zorzi and her team aren’t the only ones who have left a lasting impression on Felix. Brian singled out how Ollie the Therapeutic Clown has “made such an impact on Felix, that Felix has started drawing when he really wasn’t a drawer, and he started putting stories to his drawings. When Felix is finished with all of his treatments, he would love to volunteer as a clown with Ollie to bring joy and happiness to those children who are affected as well.”
Children’s Health Foundation President & CEO Scott Fortnum noted that Dr. Zorzi had shared her vision for the paediatric oncology program at Children’s Hospital during a meeting with the Jahnke Family, and how gifts to the Children’s Childhood Cancer Program have impacted kids and families.
“When you use words like ‘transformation’ and ‘paradigm shift’, that’s incredibly exciting and incredibly inspiring,” he said. “I feel very confident that there are great things to continue to come.”
Before Childhood Cancer Awareness month ended, the paediatric oncology program received another exciting gift from the Verspeeten Family. After already donating a historic $20 million to transform adult cancer care at LHSC, the Verspeeten Family chose to donate a further $675,000 to Children’s Hospital, with the majority of the gift directed towards supporting precision medicine in oncology care led by Dr. Richard Kim and Dr. Zorzi.
When announcing the gift, Dennis Verspeeten recalled his mother’s stay at LHSC. He described her illness as being quite difficult, including many years on a feeding tube, unable even to drink water. “But she never complained,” Dennis said. “She was always thinking of all the kids and young families she saw at the hospital. And that’s why we felt compelled to make this gift.”
Last year, the paediatric oncology team at Children’s Hospital treated 781 patients at over 4,600 visits.
Thank you to all of our donors for making advances in children’s cancer care possible.
