A Kids' Brain Tumor Cure Foundation (aka The Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma Foundation, Inc.)

The ultimate goal of A Kids' Brain Tumor Cure is to find more effective and less toxic treatments and a cure for children battling pediatric brain cancer, now the #1 cause of cancer death in children.

We seek to accomplish this goal through a dual-pronged strategy, which unites the most promising researchers with funding AND unites funding agencies to support these researchers.\

To date, A Kids' Brain Tumor Cure Foundation has raised over $14.5 million for research. We have been able to fund over three dozen of the most promising research projects targeted specifically at eradicating the most common forms of children's brain tumors. These funds have also helped launch the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's PLGA Research Program, as well as projects at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Children's Medical Center, Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center and many others.

A Kids' Brain Tumor Cure Foundation actively promotes partnerships with other non-profit organizations, individuals, and government entities and has collaborated on fundraising, education and grant allocations in order to leverage resources and funds.

Since 2007, A Kids' Brain Tumor Cure has been actively engaged in raising awareness and funds for critically needed pediatric brain cancer research. Our unique approach enables our organization to provide seed funding to the most promising research studies. In turn, the projects that show efficacy for their concepts can then apply to the National Cancer Institute for their additional funding.

Our fundraising strategy is made possible through a variety of annual fundraising events across the country, personal fundraising campaigns by families affected by pediatric brain cancer and reaching out to like-minded non-profit organizations to partner in sponsoring particular grants.

In addition to raising funds, AKBTC impacts progress in this disease by sponsoring and participating in major industry conferences including International Society of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (ISPNO) as well as helping found the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2). These close alliances with other brain cancer and pediatric cancer organizations have enabled us to establish our organization as a preeminent leader in the pediatric brain cancer community, leveraging resources and relationships to accelerate the momentum and shine the spotlight on pediatric brain cancer.

Through our fundraising, advocacy, and scientific community outreach and collaboration, A Kids' Brain Tumor Cure has been able to provide critical seed funding to prove efficacy for promising research projects, a necessary precursor to NCI support of further research.

We have a robust scientific advisory board, including clinicians and researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who play an integral role in enabling us to advance our scientific research agenda. In addition, we have close associations with other national medical centers including Johns Hopkins, CHOP, Massachusetts General Hospital, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Children's National Medical Center. Our goal through this united effort is to find less toxic treatments and a cure for pediatric brain cancer, now the leading cause of cancer death in children.

Pediatric brain cancer has surpassed childhood leukemia as the #1 cause of cancer death in children. While there are only 3500 – 4000 new brain tumor diagnoses each year, losing even one child to this disease is too many. In addition, the children that survive rarely, if ever, 'walk away' unscathed. The impact of the current treatments often leaves these children severely impaired in both gross motor and/or neurological functioning. Loss of sight, loss of mobility, detrimental impact on intellectual abilities, severe weight gain or any of the other complications as a result of the diagnosis and the treatments that are used in order to eradicate the tumor are simply not good enough. These children deserve a chance to fight for their dreams, not their lives. Our organization is giving hope back to these children and scientists believe that there we are on the precipice of finding targeted medicines that will change the outcome for all of these children. We haven't yet accomplished the ultimate goal of curing these children. But we will if pediatric brain cancer is at the top of the research agenda for not just our organization, but the NCI's and big pharma as well. We will continue working toward that goal so that all children can live happy and healthy lives, free of pediatric brain cancer.