Our Mission

The Children’s Cancer Cause is the leading national advocacy organization working to achieve access to less toxic and more effective pediatric cancer therapies; to expand resources for research and specialized care; and to address the unique needs and challenges of childhood cancer survivors and their families. Children’s Cancer Cause leads efforts to ensure that these needs and perspectives of children with cancer are integrated into the highest deliberations on health care and cancer policy at the Federal level.

Organization History

Children’s Cancer Cause was founded in 1999 as The Children’s Cause, Inc., was established to take a leadership role in advocacy and training on national issues affecting childhood cancer.

As families, survivors and consumers, we act as a catalyst to stimulate pediatric drug discovery and development and to help ensure care for the more than 500,000 survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer.

We work closely with leaders in the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, Congress and the pharmaceutical industry to make a difference in the pace and efficiency of getting new treatments to children. We fill a strategic national gap, by advancing policy and system improvements with a sense of urgency from families and survivors that childhood cancer must be eradicated.

Children’s Cancer Cause is dedicated to monitoring, advocating and disseminating information about vital national issues facing children with cancer and their families. Children’s Cancer Cause is supported by corporate and foundation grants, and by caring friends and families. Our efforts focus on the day when childhood cancer will no longer be the leading disease killer of our children.

20 Years of Policy Progress

Your support during our 20 years of fighting for children with cancer, survivors, and their families has made it possible to make significant progress and dream even bigger as we look toward the future. We are proud to count you as our partner in this work. Among the highlights of our 20 years:

• Created a series of national childhood cancer advocacy training workshops, establishing tools and training for grassroots advocates as a core aspect of the organization's mission. Recent versions of this program have focused on training national nonprofit leaders on legislative issues related to childhood cancer and strategies for advancing policy change.

• Helped draft and introduce legislation like the Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act in 2011 and the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Reauthorization Act in 2013.

• Convened regional advocacy conferences for childhood cancer survivors.

• Developed strong principles of quality health care for children with cancer and advanced those principles during the Congressional debate on the Affordable Care Act. We championed a definition of essential health benefits that reflected the special needs of children with cancer and survivors as part of the standard-setting process that occurred during Affordable Care Act implementation.  

• Advanced provisions in the 2012 FDA Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) to speed the development of treatments for children with cancer.

• Helped organize Childhood Cancer Action Days, a community event that now takes place annually.

• Developed and disseminated a range of educational materials including an advocacy toolkit for survivors, a brochure for social workers, and web materials including a bulletin and blog.

• Helped secure passage of the RACE for Children Act, authorizing FDA to require pediatric testing of adult cancer drugs.

• Launched the Kids Action Network, an online membership group of highly engaged advocates.

• Worked with national leaders in pharma, FDA, NCI and COG on challenges in drug development and recommendations for a public-private partnership to develop drugs for children with cancer.

• Partnered with national coalitions to secure passage of the Childhood Cancer STAR Act, the most sweeping childhood cancer legislation ever introduced.