SickKids VS – Details, episodes & analysis

Despite advancements in treatment, leukemia survival rates have remained unchanged for years—until now. A groundbreaking clinical trial is transforming outcomes for children. Hear from the SickKids experts who led this game-changing breakthrough and the family whose journey was forever changed by it.

When Harper was four, she was surgically tethered to a machine the size of a dishwasher. It kept her alive as she waited for a heart transplant. But it meant her life was confined to a hospital indefinitely. A new study explores the complex emotions and impact for families surviving in limbo

A new wave of venture philanthropists is pooling their money to fuel major medical discoveries. The return on their investment? Saving lives. Meet these changemakers plus the scientist behind a new way to diagnose brain tumours in kids.

(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Dr. Isaac Odame is making life easier for children with sickle cell disease—about half of whom in Canada will be seen at SickKids. Hear how he implemented an early detection and treatment program, and how he's tackling even bigger obstacles, including toxic treatments, anti-Black racism, and limited care capacity in other parts of the world.

(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Five-year-old Michael is one of less than 100 people in the world with SPG50, an ultrarare genetic disease. In March 2022, a SickKids team dosed Michael with the first-ever gene therapy for SPG50 in an unprecedented clinical trial. We tell the remarkable story of what it took to deliver a customized drug for Michael’s particular genetic variant, and what it means for SickKids’ vision of precision medicine.

(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

For families whose children have had major heart surgeries, the idea of exercise can be terrifying. Is their heart strong enough? What if their heart fails? This fear is understandable but can be damaging in the long run. That’s why Dr. Barbara Cifra launched a first-of-its-kind exercise counselling program for children with congenital heart disease. Hear how the program empowers patients to shed their fears, know their limits, and live life to the fullest.

(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

The kids aren't all right. During COVID, depression, anxiety and eating disorders skyrocketed. Families struggled. And a SickKids team started gathering data. Their real-time findings went on to influence policy and deepen knowledge of children's mental health.

(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

Not all medical instruments are surgical. Hear from a trio of music therapists as they share unique approaches—and songs—for soothing pain, building bonds, and unlocking new ways of communicating for kids who are nonverbal.

(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

A cancer diagnosis alone is scary and stressful, especially when it involves a child. But the emotional and logistical fallout also upends a family's day-to-day life. Discover what happens when a first-of-its-kind program deploys resource navigators—Dennis and Lisa, who work tirelessly to show families that they are not alone.

(For bonus content or to advance similar research, please visit SickKidsFoundation.com/podcast. The SickKids VS Podcast is generously sponsored by CIBC and edited by Quill.)

SickKids VS takes you to the frontlines in the fight for child health, where we speak candidly to world experts, patients, and their families about big breakthroughs. Hear about the science behind music therapy; what happens when a team helps families with the daily stresses of childhood cancer; how a scientist delivers a world-first gene therapy for one child’s rare disease, and many more incredible stories.

Subscribe today. Season 4 starts May 11.