This is a guest opinion column
I decided to become a scientist the day my childhood friend, Evan, died from cancer. I had known Evan practically my entire life. Our moms were friends and both teachers at the same public school, and we lived only a few minutes away from each other. We grew up together in Bessemer doing all kinds of nerdy kid things like playing with Legos, geeking out about science, and belting karaoke songs in his living room.
But in 2006, Evan was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that affects the nervous system, and began receiving treatments at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. While an incredible team of doctors was able to give him 5 more years of life, Evan passed away at only 10 years old. It was then I realized that doctors’ options to help kids like Evan are limited by the treatments we have, and for many cancers those options are still too few…