15 Interesting Facts You May Have Not Known About St. Jude

Thursday and Friday this week at 97.3 The Dawg will be the two most important days of our broadcast year. Our annual Country Cares St. Jude Radiothon.

For the next two days we will be sharing stories about a little slice of heaven on Earth in Memphis, Tennessee, the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

We'll be sharing some of the breakthroughs that are happening at the hospital and research facility. We'll also have some heart-breaking stories of children who've lost their battle with cancer.

Along the way, you'll also meet some kids and parents from right here in Acadiana whose lives have been changed for the better due to the amazing work done at this fantastic hospital.

You will be touched one way or another.

As we gear up for the Radiothon, we thought we would share some of the interesting facts about St. Jude Research Hospital, some of which you may not have known.

1. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened on February 4, 1962. Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, the hospital's mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.
2. St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.
3. On average, 7,800 active patients visit the hospital each year, most of whom are treated on an outpatient basis.
4. St. Jude has 78 inpatient beds and treats upwards of 260 patients each day.
5. Research findings at St. Jude are shared freely with doctors and scientists all over the world.
6. The medical and scientific staff published more than 680 articles in academic journals in 2010, more than any other pediatric cancer research center in the United States. St. Jude’s researchers are published and cited more often in high impact publications than any other private pediatric oncology institution in America.
7. No family ever pays St. Jude for anything.
8. St. Jude has developed protocols that have helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent when the hospital opened in 1962 to 80 percent today.
9. In 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4 percent. Today, the survival rate for this once deadly disease is 94 percent, thanks to research and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude.
10. The daily operating cost for St. Jude is $1.8 million, which is primarily covered by public contributions.
11. During the past five years, 81 cents of every dollar received has supported the research and treatment at St. Jude.
12. St. Jude patients are referred by a physician, and generally have a disease currently under study and are eligible for a current research protocol on clinical research trials.
13. St. Jude researchers and doctors are treating children with pediatric AIDS, as well as using new drugs and therapies to fight infections.
14. St. Jude was the first institution to develop a cure for sickle cell disease with a bone marrow transplant and has one of the largest pediatric sickle cell programs in the country.
15. St. Jude was the first institution to develop a cure for sickle cell disease with a bone marrow transplant and has one of the largest pediatric sickle cell programs in the country.

[StJude.org]