Although pediatric cancer research is making great strides, a funding shortage threatens further progress in this lifesaving field.

In one groundbreaking trial, researchers injected a young college student’s brain tumor with a form of the polio virus. Because she had previously received the polio vaccine, the girl’s body began to fight the tumor. Once the size of a lime, it’s now the size of a pea.

“When you hear a story like that, it sends chills up your spine,” said Jay Scott, co-executive director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

But scientific breakthroughs can occur only if medical research receives sufficient funding

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Next month, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) is teaming up with Northwestern Mutual to host its second Young Investigators Summit and inspire a new generation of pediatric cancer researchers to find treatments and cures in this vastly underfunded field.

“Anybody who can do the math can figure out that kids are getting shortchanged,” said Scott, who believes that cures for most kids can be found within five to ten years.

Nine in ten pediatric cancer researchers say lack of funding is the biggest obstacle to finding a cure,according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual. And nearly a fifth of researchers are considering leaving the field, primarily because of a lack of funds.

“That’s a real eye-opener,” said Scott. “We don’t want to lose a whole generation of potential cancer researchers.”

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