2022 Champion's Prize Awarded to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Survivorship Program
We’re proud to share with you that we’ve named the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Survivorship Program as the recipient of our 2022 Survivorship Champion’s Prize, in recognition of their excellence in survivorship care.
The $10,000 Champion’s Prize is awarded annually to a group, program, or institution making significant advances in programs and services to provide life-long health maintenance for survivors of pediatric cancers.
The Phoenix Children’s Hospital Survivorship Program was selected for this award in recognition of their patient-centric research and impressive multidisciplinary care model. The selection committee was particularly impressed with Phoenix Children’s unique focus on rural care needs and its creation of specialized cardio-oncology and neuro-oncology clinics.
Thirty percent of childhood cancer survivors surveyed by the Children’s Cancer Cause in the summer of 2022 are unsure if they have a record of their treatment or a summary of their care, 46 percent have significant concerns about experiencing a relapse, and 40 percent are worried about fertility. The Phoenix Children’s Hospital Survivorship Program is serving as a model for survivorship programs and services across the country that are aiming to change this narrative and improve the long-term care of the nation’s 500,000 childhood cancer survivors.
“Our team at Phoenix Children’s Hospital is honored to be included with the best children’s hospitals in the country to receive the prestigious Champion’s prize from Children’s Cancer Cause. This prize is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication to this group of patients,” said Dr. Alexandra Walsh of Phoenix Children’s. “Childhood cancer survivors are a growing group of patients who need a dedicated group of providers such we have here at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. We will use the prize money to continue to expand our clinic offerings, including the development of a dedicated adult transition program which we are calling STEPs, Successfully Transitioning Every Patient.”
Three additional top-scoring applicants are also being recognized with $5,000 awards in special categories of distinction:
Program Impact: The St. Jude Transition Oncology Program (Memphis, TN) was selected in acknowledgment of their efforts to support survivors and families through major care transitions by providing guidance and education around specific transition-related needs and navigation services;
Collaboration: The David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic, Dana Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center (Boston, MA) is acknowledged for Project Reach and the regional CONNECCs consortium to address the needs of survivors of pediatric cancers; and
Scalability: The ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation (Richmond, VA) is being recognized for providing comprehensive educational support for childhood cancer survivors from preschool through young adulthood, with a focus on reaching survivors where they are in the community.
Since its inception in 2020, the Survivorship Champion’s Prize has awarded $75,000 to a total of twelve prestigious survivorship programs across the country, including the new 2022 awardees, enabling these institutions to expand access and enhance programs. The Survivorship Champion’s Prize is a component of the Stewart Initiative for Childhood Cancer Survivors, an educational program of the Children’s Cancer Cause designed to help the more than 500,000 pediatric cancer survivors who face lifelong health challenges as a result of the treatment they received.
Phoenix Children’s Hospital Survivorship Program joins Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers Long-Term Survivor Program (2020 winner) and the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (2021 winner) as previous top Champion’s Prize awardees.