Isabella Santos Foundation Grants Funds to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for Rhabdomyosarcoma Trial
Isabella Santos Foundation Grants Funds to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for Rhabdomyosarcoma Trial
Just over a year ago we met rhabdomyosarcoma warrior, Merritt. At the time she had endured several tumor removal surgeries, 10 radiation treatments and wasn’t even halfway into her 42 weeks of chemo. Her dad participated in our Through My Eyes September campaign last year and opened up for everyone to see the ripple effects cancer has had in their lives.
Since then Merritt has completed 42 weeks of chemo (that’s 80 infusion treatments!) and a couple weeks of daily oral chemo to round out her treatment. Just last week Merritt’s end of treatment scans for rhabdomyosarcoma came back clear.
We are so inspired by Merritt, her family and everyone supporting her! To celebrate and pay tribute to Merritt and her fight… we are thrilled to announce we have paid for the first year for a rhabdomyosarcoma trial out of Nationwide Children’s Hospital through the Childrens Oncology Group. This five year trial is focused on analyzing tissue samples to assess patterns in rhabdomyosarcoma. The results will have significant effects on the treatment and prognosis of rhabdomyosarcoma patients now and in the future. You helped us do this all in Merritt’s honor!
Merritt is just one example of how we need to keep moving forward to help these kids beat cancer, grow hair and live their dreams. There is simply not enough known facts about these rare diseases, it’s up to us to help fund the answers.
Funding this rhabdomyosarcoma trial is part of our ‘Grow Hair’ giving program to improve trials and studies for better outcomes. The funds raised through the ‘Grow Hair’ giving program in 20% of our mission focus and will be granted to the Children’s Oncology Group, a National Cancer Institute, supporting clinical trials. Donations to the ‘Grow Hair’ program will help give doctors the ability to create safer and more effective treatments for kids fighting rare cancers. Funded trials like this one will affect more than 200 of the leading children’s hospitals and cancer centers in the U.S., including Levine Children’s.
