Kathy Ruccione is the Nursing Administrator in the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Her particular interests are in three areas: preparing patients and families to be informed participants in their care; the long-term follow-up of childhood cancer survivors; and the epidemiology and genetics of childhood cancer. She has published extensively and is frequently invited to speak on these topics. Kathy has lived in Southern California most of her life. She is the mother of one child, Daniel, who is now 12 years old. Living with Daniel, who is profoundly deaf, has brought many new challenges and opened new worlds. Her personal experience as a mother of a child with a disability has enriched her perspective and deepened her commitment to finding ways to help children and their families survive and transcend the experience with cancer.