(Above photo) Anita Beeler, development assistant and special projects coordinator for Ronald McDonald House of Indiana, assists Gavin Barringer of Lagrange with his sandal earlier this year at the Ronald McDonald House at the IU Medical Center in Indianapolis. The facility serves more than 1,100 families each year. Recently, a new Ronald McDonald House within Riley Hospital for Children has opened (photo at left), offering six fully furnished overnight guest rooms to families in need of accommodations as they watch over a child in any one of Riley’s critical care units. Read more about outreach to out-of-town families in the current edition of "Indiana University Medicine." Photos by Chris Meyer

The number of children surviving battles with cancer is ever increasing, with 75 to 80 percent of children treated for cancer living five years or more after diagnosis. This is a dramatic increase in survival rates for children with cancer in the past 10 years.

Nearly 85 percent of Indiana children diagnosed with a childhood cancer are treated at Riley, and Riley has approximately 9,500 outpatient visits per year and approximately 900 hospital admissions per year, which places it as one of the busiest in the region.

"Because of our reputation and success over the past 10 years, Riley receives cancer patients from across the nation," said Dr. Robert Fallon, medical director of pediatric hematology and oncology. Currently, there are 18 pediatric cancer physicians treating patients at Riley.

One of Riley’s highly regarded cancer programs, stem cell transplantation, is recognized as the only pediatric stem cell transplant unit in the state, and performs approximately 25 to 30 life-saving stem cell transplants each year. Dr. Paul Haut directs the pediatric stem cell transplant program.