The St. Jude Style Guide for Media is intended to help media achieve stylistic consistency in written communications about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
ALSAC/St. Jude
When referencing the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude, identify it as ALSAC or as ALSAC/St. Jude with a slash (/) between the two
Boards of Directors and Governors
Use ALSAC/St. Jude Boards of Directors and Governors, ALSAC Board of Directors, or St. Jude Board of Governors. Capitalize Board on second reference.
Boilerplate
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food—because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Clinical trials
The word Phase, when used in conjunction with a clinical trial, should be capitalized, and the trial number should be a Roman numeral: A Phase I trial is ongoing.
Diseases
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (not lymphocytic)
Acute myeloid leukemia (not myelocytic)
Ewing sarcoma (not Ewing’s)
Hodgkin lymphoma (not Hodgkin’s)
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (not Hodgkin’s)
Wilms tumor (not Wilms’)
For stages of cancer, lowercase the word “stage” and use a Roman numeral: He had stage IV neuroblastoma.
Mission statement
This is the correct version to use: The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our Founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.
Radiation, irradiation
The verb “irradiate” means “to treat with forms of radiation.” Therefore, when trying to decide between the two terms, stop and consider whether the author is talking about the treatment itself, which would be “radiation,” or whether they are talking about the tissue being treated, e.g. “cranial irradiation” or “the tumor was irradiated with...”
Registered trademark symbol
To show that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and ALSAC® are registered trademarks, either use the ® symbol (in Windows documents, press Ctrl+Alt+R) on the first reference or include the following sentence in the publication: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and ALSAC are registered trademarks.
St. Jude
After the first reference to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, use St. Jude. Do not use St. Jude Hospital or SJCRH on second reference. Do not capitalize the word hospital when used alone on second reference. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital is located at 262 Danny Thomas Place.
St. Jude, St. Jude's
Do not use an apostrophe in the name of the hospital, unless you must make it possessive.
Incorrect: I work at St. Jude’s.
Correct: I work at St. Jude.
When the possessive is used, try to re-write the sentence to avoid using the apostrophe and “s”:
OK: He works in St. Jude’s Communications office.
Better: He works in the St. Jude Communications office or …in the Communications office at St. Jude.
Survivors Day
The event known as Survivors Day has no apostrophe in the word Survivors.
Transplant, Transplantation
A transplant is a particular event; transplantation refers to the method itself.
Examples: Stem cell transplantation is the preferred method of treatment. She received a stem cell transplant in June.