Childhood Cancer is the leading cause of death by illness among children in the U.S. with approximately, 15,000 cases diagnosed annually. 

Because Childhood Cancer rates are low compared to those of adults, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) allocates only 4% of its overall budget to Childhood Cancer research. Most recently, advocates have been pushing to increase this funding to develop targeted therapies and improve survival rates. 

Due to lack of funding supporting research, there has been few new drugs in the past several decades developed specifically for Childhood Cancer. The most common drugs used for treatment such as Vincristine, Cyclophosphamide, and Doxorubicin were developed over 50 years ago. 

Survival rates depend on many factors, such as early detection, type of cancer, relapse,  and access to care. While overall 5-year survival rate has increased significantly for some of the most common cancers such as Acute Lymphoma Leukemia (ALL), other "rare" types such as DIPG and certain sarcomas  still have incredibly low survival rates