Don’t Forget the Research
B+ Hero Emmett
Life can change so quickly! When Emmett started 1st grade last month, I’ll bet he and his family were dealing with all of the normal stresses of starting school. Just weeks into his school year though, he was diagnosed with AML (which is the type of cancer that Andrew had). Please keep this cute little guy in your prayers.
“Emmett is 6 years old and in 1st grade. He enjoys anything outdoors - such as camping, fishing, swimming, boating, and riding his bike! He also loves dinosaurs, Spiderman, monster trucks, and Legos! He is a super energetic, happy kid with a big heart! Emmett was diagnosed on September 20th, 2023 with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) after nearly a month of cough/cold symptoms and a consistent fever. His diagnosis was discovered at Children's Hospital, where he will continue to spend the next 6 months to a year undergoing chemotherapy treatment, blood transfusions, and a bone marrow transplant at the beginning of 2024. Emmett is a natural born fighter and has already proven his amazing strength in his battle with AML. He has a long journey ahead of him. However, we have no doubt he will achieve remission with the love and guidance from his parents Dylan and Joycelyn and his huge support system of family and friends!”
B+ Hero Katy
Check out that smile!!! Take a minute to get to know Katy by reading her “About Me” page. I like that she wishes that she was a baby bunny! :)
Be proud B+ Nation! You’ve lifted some of the financial burden off of these families so that they focus more time where it belongs —- on their brave and innocent child!
Research Frontier
The unacceptable injustice of children getting cancer doesn’t stop if we don’t make progress on the research front. I am proud to say that we have been VERY busy in that regard over the past weeks in particular. Carly Bergstein (Exec. Dir) and I attended the largest assembly on cancer research in Ottawa (SIOP Conference), followed by a visit to a hospital where we’ve funded a lot of research (Seattle Children’s), and then two more conferences last week. The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation was one of the primary sponsors of the inaugural Prevention Symposium in Washington, DC that Carly covered while I participated in the ACCELERATE meetings at the EMA (European Medicines Agency) in Amsterdam (see picture below). Twenty-seven countries were represented at this meeting. The B+ Foundation is the largest underwriter of the ACCELERATE organization as well. Thanks to a lot of lobbying from our community, the US government has increased funding of childhood cancer research, but we all must do more for our kids.
In the coming weeks, we will announce the recipients of our latest grant cycle - $1,500,000 awarded across 10 researchers.
