| Childhood cancer is much more common than most people think. In the United States alone, one in 330 children is diagnosed with cancer before their 18th birthday. Tragically, many of these children currently have no hope for a cure. There is very little funding going towards research specifically for childhood cancers, which are very different from adult cancers. In fact, certain types of pediatric cancers have not seen new successful treatments in over 20 years. Pharmaceutical companies choose not to fund research and development for children because they claim it will not be profitable.
The Pediatric Cancer Foundation is committed to giving all children a fighting chance to beat cancer. The sole purpose of PCF is to find a cure – period. This foundation will only consider itself successful when there is no longer a need for its existence.
To this end, the PCF is leading and driving The Sunshine Project – a national collaborative research initiative which has brought together the best researchers, doctors and scientists from leading institutions to accelerate both the pace and the effectiveness of new cancer therapies for children. The team is working at an unprecedented pace and is launching clinical trials around the country to find new successful treatments and save precious lives. The estimated cost per patient per clinical trial is $12,000. To many that may seem like an extraordinary number, but we know that it is a minimal price to pay for the lives of children battling cancer. We realize that research is the only way to find new therapies and treatments to beat this disease.
Time is of the essence for these children and we need your help now more than ever. Please help us raise critical dollars for research by donating to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation through the 2009 Gasparilla Distance Classic. |
