Tag Archive for: Levine Children’s Hospital pediatric cancer treatment

JE Dunn Supports Pediatric Cancer

Sustaining Partner JE Dunn Construction shares why helping ISF and the community is so Important in helping fight against cancer.

A New Way to Make an Impact: Isabella Santos Ambassador Program

Take your support of the Isabella Santos Foundation to the next level
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As the Isabella Santos Foundation MIBG treatment suite at Levine Children’s Hospital goes under construction, we want to ensure that we help plan for the kids and their families who will have to walk through its door for cancer treatment.  We have developed the Isabella Santos MIBG Ambassador Program, a new way of fundraising and making an impact.  As an Isabella Santos MIBG Ambassador, you agree to help raise $5,000 to provide a comfortable and customized experience for all families and children who undergo MIBG therapy at Levine Children’s Hospital.  This program gives you the opportunity to leverage your network and raise funds the way you want to raise them.  100% of your donation will go to help support patients and families by helping provide items and experiences that we will detail during our upcoming MIBG Ambassador kick off meeting.
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We hope you will join us at our MIBG Ambassador KICK OFF meeting on May 22 at 6:30 at the Santos Home.  Drinks and light appetizers will be available.  Please R.S.V.P. by Sunday, May 20th.  If you cannot attend and would like information, please contact tia@isabellasantosfoundation.org for details.
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Date: Tuesday, May 22
Time:  6:30 pm
Location:  Santos Home

Levine Children’s Hospital: We’re Doing All We Can to End Childhood Cancer

Content provided by Levine Children’s Hospital

Today, the 5-year survival rate for those with childhood cancers stands at more than 80 percent – up more than 20 points since the 1970s.

That’s encouraging news for families with children with cancer. But there’s still a long way to go, especially when funding for pediatric cancer remains low.

Here at Levine Children’s Hospital, we’re doing all we can to cure the incurable. We sat down with some of the cancer specialists at LCH to hear what excites them about cancer care here in the greater Charlotte area.

Personalized medicine. As part of the Beat Childhood Cancer initiative, LCH researchers are investigating tailored courses of chemotherapy based on a person’s individual genetic makeup. “We give you a personal answer, telling you what drugs may work for a specific tumor. For people who have gone through chemotherapy, that is a very unique thing,” says Javier Oesterheld, MD, medical director for pediatric hematology, oncology, and blood and marrow transplantation.

New technology for rare nerve cancer. LCH is building a dedicated lead-lined room to deliver a special kind of therapy called MIBG to treat neuroblastoma, a form of high-risk nerve cancer. We’ll be one of fewer than 20 centers in the United States to offer this type of therapy, says Dr. Oesterheld.

Dynamic approaches for blood and marrow transplantation. Replacing broken stem cells with healthy cells from a donor is one way to cure many types of cancer. We’re one of 12 institutions in the country studying a new technology that can help kids with cancer who have no other donors. “We have a number of kids who we’re helping save with this  technology, and we’re really privileged to be able to bring this top-level work here to Charlotte,” says Jeffrey Huo, MD, pediatric blood and marrow transplantation specialist.

Immunotherapies. Many new treatments for leukemia involve helping the body itself to fight off the cancerous cells. “We’re now able to trick the body’s own immune system into recognizing the leukemia cells as bad, so it can go and kill those cells,” says Joel Kaplan, MD, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. “This type of research is one of the most cutting-edge things going on in the nation right now, and we’re contributing to those efforts here at LCH.”

Beyond new therapies, our doctors know that better treatment also includes providing the extra human touch – to be at our best when children are at their worst. “The science of cancer is always changing, which keeps us on our toes,” says Dr. Oesterheld. “But the idea of being able to get a child through probably the worst times of their lives – for us, that’s invaluable.”

Lake Norman Coffee for a Cure Brings in Over $35,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research

2017 Lake Norman Coffee for a Cure. Photo courtesy of Localscroll.com

Our 2nd annual Coffee for a Cure hosted by our ISF Lake Norman chapter was a huge success.  Thank you to the 250 men and women who attended and the sponsors and local businesses who gave time and money to this event.  This event served as a call to action in the fight against pediatric cancer and to educate community members on the importance of bringing pediatric cancer treatments home to Charlotte.  We were able to raise $35,000 and donations have continued to come in.  These funds bring us one step closer to our 2017 $1,000,000 fundraising goal to fund the creation of a MIBG room at Levine Children’s Hospital.

Our Lake Norman chapter could not put on such a wonderful event if it wasn’t for the support of our community businesses who help us through their sponsorship. It is through their passion for charitable giving and making a local impact that we are able to continue Isabella’s fight. Thank you to the following businesses:

2017 Lake Norman Coffee for a Cure. Photos courtesy of Localscroll.com

During the event, we introduced our new major gift society, called The Three Wish Circle, with an annual gift of $5000 or more, donors can take their support of the ISF mission to the next level by funding more research for childhood cancer and help to bring innovative treatment options to our local community.  If you have questions or want to know more about how to take your support to the next level, contact our ISF Development Director, Tia Wackerhagen.

We cannot begin to put words to how grateful that we are for the impact you are helping us make, thank you for your support.. We are so proud of what we have accomplished together and it is because of YOU. We could not do this alone and could not continue our fight without your help. We humbly thank each of you and look forward to a world with no more cancer where we will beat cancer, grow hair and live the dreams of all children fighting the fight.

We appreciate Local Scroll Charlotte for capturing the event, view all photos of the 2017 Lake Norman Coffee for a Cure.