Tag Archive for: Levine Children’s Hospital
A New Meaning to Being a Mom: Dr. Pope
Being a mom with a child who has cancer changes you. Being a mom who treats those children with cancer changes you too. Follow allong as we hear from both.
A New Meaning to Being a Mom: Cancer Mom Denielle
Being a mom with a child who has cancer changes you. Being a mom who treats those children with cancer changes you too. Follow allong as we hear from both.
Levine Children’s Certified as a COG MIBG Treatment Center Hospital
A little update..well, actually really big news for all our supporters who helped us make the MIBG Therapy suite a reality here in Charlotte.
In 2017 so many of you helped us raise $1,000,000 to fund the Isabella Santos Foundation MIBG Therapy Suite at Levine Children’s. In 2018 that therapy suite was constructed and Levine Children’s treated it’s first MIBG patient by the end of the year. Since then there has been a rotation of children fighting neuroblastoma, treated in the specialized therapy room.
Just this week Levine Children’s met another exciting milestone… they have been approved as an official treating facility for MIBG therapy through the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). This was a long time in the making and we are so proud of the LCH staff for all they have accomplished to help make this a reality.
Simply put, this advanced treatment is now more accessible to kids fighting neuroblastoma.
So what does this mean?
- 90% of children diagnosed with cancer in the United States are treated by a COG hospital. There are over 200 certified COG Hospitals across the U.S. and Levine Children’s is one of them
- Being part of this network means that every child and care team have complete access to the latest research and world-class treatments at hospitals near them.
- Levine Children’s has been working through the necessary steps for COG MIBG approval for the past 18 months
- Levine Children’s is now a certified COG MIBG treating center hospital
- Levine Children’s is now approved to administer MIBG Therapy to kids fighting neuroblastoma who are entered on the MIBG protocol through the U.S.
- Levine Children’s is currently the 18th hospital (1 of 3 on the east coast) approved to administer MIBG Therapy in the U.S.
- Neuroblastoma patients in Charlotte who are put on MIBG will NOT have to travel
- Neuroblastoma patients from all over U.S. can now be treated at Levine Children’s for MIBG
MIBG therapy provides targeted radiation to pediatric neuroblastoma patients with minimal side effects. We are thrilled this therapy will now impact kids fighting neuroblastoma beyond the Charlotte region and equally thrilled that this helps Levine Children’s continue their impact on a larger scale. Thank you to all of you who continue to believe in our mission. We are extremely grateful for your support.
Tribute. Legacy. Honor
This picture was taken on the morning of December 23, 2019 as we presented $650,000 to the Levine Children’s oncology team. This particular morning was incredibly special to me for several reasons, not only because of the big dollar signs.
Many of you know, I lost my mom suddenly on November 3rd, to ovarian cancer. The holidays were thrown right on top of that, so these last few months have rubbed my family raw. The outpouring of love and support has been overwhelming with almost $10,000 donated to ISF in honor of my Mom. Amid so much pain and grief, each donation brought a little unexpected joy to our broken hearts.
My family was in town for the holidays, so I asked my Dad to go with the team up to the hospital to present this check. Afterall, almost $10,000 of that check included all of Mom’s tributes we received at the end of the year. I also thought it would be great to show him the place and the people I work so passionately for, day in and day out. Dad was thrilled and asked if we could head up a little early to visit with Merritt and her parents since they were in clinic that morning.
Why did my Dad want to visit with Merritt and her family? He wanted to personally say ‘Thank You’ to them for attending my Mom’s Celebration of Life. To say, ‘Thank You’ for driving 10+ hours round trip across the state for a woman they have never met. To say ‘Thank You’ for honoring her and paying tribute to her. And to say ‘Thank You’ for supporting us. It was so thoughtful that they took the time to support our family during such a difficult time.
Thinking back to December 23rd as being incredibly special, is an understatement. For me it signified strength, healing, love, guidance, family, encouragement, lasting legacy, change and so much more. A full circle moment for us celebrating my Mom’s life in a special way and giving my Dad the opportunity to say ‘Thank You’ to a cancer family I support… that is now supporting us. In hindsight, it would have meant the world if my Dad was in the picture with us, but just his being there meant everything.
Tribute. Legacy. Honor… all words you will hear us say A LOT this year at ISF. We are so excited for what’s to come, because every move we make in 2020 will be in honor of someone special. We want to help turn all the pain into change for kids fighting cancer.
Together we can help kids Beat Cancer, Grow Hair, and Live Their Dreams.
Much Love,
Rachel, ISF Marketing Director
