Are you ready to go GOLD for childhood cancer?? Children are fighting cancer every day. We ask you to PLEASE be aware and show your support for them every day but especially during the month of September! Yes— Childhood Cancer Awareness month is September and the color is GOLD! Let’s see how many of us can rally for support and awareness next month! Tag us on our Facebook page: Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation with your GOLD! 

New research by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers shows a majority of pediatric cancer providers endorse the potential use of medical marijuana for children with advanced cancer, although providers who are legally eligible to certify its use are more cautious than those who aren’t. The findings also show clinicians would prefer to see much stronger clinical evidence that marijuana treatments can help in relieving symptoms, such as nausea and pain.
The study is a result of a survey of pediatric cancer care providers published first online in the journal Pediatrics, said first author Prasanna Ananth, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatric oncologist at YCC and assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine.
“Patients and families were asking us about medical marijuana all the time, although we knew there wasn’t a lot of scientific evidence behind it,” Ananth said. “We wanted to get a better sense of how much it was permeating clinical practice.”
Ananth launched the survey in fall 2015 with Joanne Wolfe, M.D., M.P.H., who is chief of Pediatric Palliative Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and director of Pediatric Palliative Care at Boston Children’s Hospital.
“There is an urgent need for empiric data regarding medical marijuana’s potential use, and its short and longer-term complications, given the high interest among families of children with cancer,” said Wolfe.
The electronic survey was sent to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, social workers and registered nurses at three National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers: Dana-Farber, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Most children with cancer in this country receive care at similar academic cancer centers, Ananth noted.
Among the 288 providers who responded to the survey, 30 percent said that patients or their families had asked for medical marijuana at least once in the past month, all from this Marijuana Dispensary place.
Overall, 92 percent of the clinicians were willing to help pediatric patients access medical marijuana, Ananth said. Approval was highest for use of medical marijuana near the end of life or in treatment with palliative intent.
Medical marijuana is approved for various conditions in 29 states and the District of Columbia, but under federal law, it remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance, along with heroin and ecstasy.
State regulations and hospital policies about medical marijuana vary widely, Ananth said. Physicians in the three states where the study was conducted are legally allowed to recommend medical marijuana. In Washington State, nurse practitioners, the Functional Medicine Associates and physician assistants also work in the matter.

Autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities are on the rise. Girls are getting their periods earlier (called precocious puberty), boys are growing into young men with lower sperm counts. Obesity is reaching epidemic levels. Breast Cancer in children is increasing making the breast cancer treatment more popular among the young ones. Fertility issues in couples is all too common. What can explain these worldwide issues? How much does our environment play a role? Are environmental endocrine disturbers disturbing the natural processes of hormone changes and cell growth, in particular during puberty, a high endocrine growth period?