The families of 3 children who were diagnosed with CCSK more recently than Andy found me through this site. They were very encouraged by Andy's story. That was enough reason to leave the site up and keep it updated.
I do want to say that I am not a doctor and I don't even play one on TV. I am not an expert on Clear Cell Sarcoma of the Kidney. I am just a mom and the information on this site is just Andy's story and some information that I have collected.
I also don't want to leave that impression that all children with cancer fare as well as Andy has so far. According to NCCF around 75% of children who get cancer are cured. This is great but there is still much work to be done. Before Andy got sick I did not know that cancer kills more children than any other disease. Of the 75% that are cured, many have very serious long term side effects. Some children lose limbs or eyes, some children have learning disabilities due to chemo and radiation, some children die from infections or other complications while they are still on treatment. Some children suffer heart damage or hearing loss due to chemotherapy. There are still some cancers like certain types of brain tumors that have a very poor prognosis. Some cancers (like clear cell sarcoma) are very difficult if not impossible to cure once they spread beyond the primary site.
In the 1970's the survival rate for clear cell sarcoma was only 25%. The rate for Andy's cancer and many other childhood cancers has been brought up because of research done by the Children's Oncology Group and it's predecessors. If Andy had gotten this cancer less than 10 years ago he would have had to endure 14 months of treatment instead of 6 months of treatment. More progress needs to be made so that if Andy's cancer does recur it won't be impossible to cure and that if it does recur he won't have to endure treatment that leaves permanent damage. More progress needs to be made for the 25% that are not cured. Please check out the 'what you can do' section.