Tag Archive for: MIBG treatment in Charlotte

MIBG Construction Update #5, Levine Children’s Hospital

/in , /by

MIBG Therapy Room, Patient/parent room dividing lead brick wall with ISF signed brick

25,000 lbs of lead bricks… that’s a whole lot of lead. But that is the necessary requirements to protect and manage MIBG Therapy safely for patients, family and staff.  Construction of the ISF MIBG Treatment Suite at Levine Children’s Hospital is progressing on schedule.  We got another peak at the room and how far it has come since we were there in early July and got to talk with MIBG Therapy Program Lead, Dawn, about her MIBG training and mock trial plans once construction wraps up. We are getting close!

10,000 pounds of lead brick has been installed in the adjoining wall between the patient and parent room.  Back in March when we announced the Therapy Suite, many of our 3 Wish Circle Members and sponsors signed a lead brick to commemorate the significance of their part in bringing this type of therapy to our region.  What was also special, doctors and nurses who treated Isabella during her time at Levine Children’s Hospital were in attendance and signed the brick.  We were excited to see where the ISF signed lead brick will be placed in the patient/parent room dividing wall (white brick in photo)… drywall goes up next week and it will become a lasting print in Levine History!

UPDATE:

  • Patient & parent bathroom framing
  • Plumbing install
  • ISF signed lead brick placement
  • Drywall starts next week

MIBG CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROGRESS PHOTOS

Over $21,000 has been raised by our ISF MIBG Ambassadors.  Want to be part of providing comfortable care for the kids/families that go through MIBG Treatment?  Our new MIBG Ambassador Program gives you the flexibility of raising $5,000 the way you want to raise it… 100% of funds raised through this program will be distributed very specifically through our LCH partnership with this very targeted MIBG purpose. {You do not have to be located in Charlotte to participate, contact Tia for details}

MIBG Therapy Room, Patient bathroom framing

MIBG Therapy Room, ISF signed lead brick

 

 

MIBG Therapy Room, ISF signed lead brick. Dawn Bartock & Rachel Wood

MIBG Therapy Room, Patient lead brick wall

MIBG Therapy Room, entrance to patient room. Parent door to the left

MIBG Treatment Room Construction Begins at Levine Children’s Hospital

/in , , /by

How satisfying is it to see your $1 MILLION worth in donations at work? To be able to touch and see the impact your dollars have on kids with cancer is immeasurable. Dawn (MIBG Therapy Program Director) and Lindsay (MIBG Head RN) stopped by the Levine Children’s Hospital ISF MIBG construction site to view the first steps of construction. Demo of the current hospital rooms where the MIBG treatment area will reside are underway, with the heavy demo starting today. We look forward to sharing progress photos and watching your impact unfold.

Levine Children’s Hospital will be 1 of 20 hospitals to have a MIBG Treatment room in the U.S. The two-room MIBG suite will provide targeted radiation to pediatric neuroblastoma patients and other rare pediatric cancers with minimal side effects. This will impact kids fighting cancer beyond the greater Charlotte region. Continue reading about the ISF MIBG room.

We are looking for individuals who want to be part of providing comfortable care for the kids/families that go through MIBG Treatment. Our new MIBG Ambassador Program gives you the flexibility of raising $5,000 the way you want to raise it… 100% of funds raised through this program will be distributed very specifically through our LCH partnership with this very targeted MIBG purpose. {You do not have to be located in Charlotte to participate, contact Tia for details}

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

/in /by

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

/in , /by

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.

State-of-the-art cancer treatment suite planned for Levine Children’s Hospital

/in , /by

We talk a lot about our $1 MILLION goal this year. Dr. Javier Oesterheld, Levine Children’s Hospital head pediatric oncologist, and Isabella’s mom were on NBC Charlotte this week to discuss the new state-of-the-art MIBG room at Levine’s that will help families with kids facing cancer. Charlotte will be one out of 20 hospitals in the country that will be able to offer this to patients.

WATCH SEGMENT HERE

What is a MIBG, why does it need a room and why is it so expensive? Read More…