What we found is that research is the key to discovering safer, more effective treatments that give children a chance at longer, healthier lives. Our funding is critical for doctors developing innovative treatments, who often face barriers to launching clinical trials. CKc funding provides researchers the time and resources needed to advance their work.
Researchers like Dr. Ted Johnson at the Georgia Cancer Center and Augusta University who received CKc’s first-ever grant in 2015. His Phase I study on indoximod for children with progressive brain tumors has since led to two clinical trials across five sites and an expanded compassionate-use protocol, providing access to patients who wouldn’t otherwise qualify. Thanks to CKc’s seed funding, more than 300 treatment options for children with brain tumors have emerged—an impact that continues today.
Do you want to know what a treatment option can actually mean to these kids and their families? I’ll let Dr. Johnson tell you: “…we have found that a number of the children receiving this treatment are demonstrating quality of life improvements, such as returning to school, taking long-delayed vacation trips, engaging in activities they cherish such as hiking and rock climbing, moving into a dormitory at college, attending sporting events, and others. For these children, immunotherapy has made a major impact on their lives.”
A decade, $4.5 million, and countless lives touched—this is the power of investing in pediatric cancer research. And we’re just getting started driving discoveries and delivering change.
Gratefully,
Dana Nichols
Executive Director
Cannonball Kids’ cancer Foundation