We would like to introduce you to Alyssa. She is 6 years old and her favorite color is pink. At this time, she is feeling well and having some “kid” fun. Alyssa loves school and enjoys drawing pictures, playing dress-up, reading stories, and being a big sister to her little brother, Michael, whom she adores. She is totally into Disney, I-Carly and Hello Kitty. However, just a few years ago, her situation was drastically different.

Alyssa was first diagnosed with stage 4 high risk Neuroblastoma at 26 months old in November, 2005. The tumor was wrapped around her kidneys and aorta. She had a total of six surgeries and one brain surgery and was cancer free until the cancer returned in May, 2007. She had many more cycles of chemotherapy and radiation and has been cancer free since May, 2008.

She is currently in treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City with a new vaccine called Trivalent. Vaccines can train the body to carry out tumor surveillance for life, never letting the cancer to fall under the radar. They are also easier to administer, requiring only seven shots given over one year, without the need for hospitalizations, catheters, or transfusions. As the trial moves forward, these vaccines can be made readily available for broader applications in patients around the world.

Alyssa is the second child in history to start this study, which was partially funded by the Soupy for Loopy Foundation in April, 2009. Without this funding, this trial would not have been an option for Alyssa.

We wish Alyssa and her family all the best as she continues with the new vaccine treatment.