Childhood Cancer Research Grant Awarded to Oregon Health & Science University

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Traci Shirk
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Childhood Cancer Research Grant Awarded to Oregon Health & Science University

St. Baldrick’s Foundation awards $50,000 to help kids with cancer

PORTLAND, Ore. (January 18, 2012) – It takes life-saving research and access to clinical trials to help children with cancer. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, awarded an infrastructure grant of $50,000 to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute and OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. The Foundation’s infrastructure grants provide institutions with resources to enable them to conduct more research and enroll more kids in ongoing clinical trials – their best hope for a cure.

Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and it remains the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States. With only 4 percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, and more than 70 percent of children receiving treatment through clinical trials, St. Baldrick’s Foundation infrastructure grants are critical to finding cures for all childhood cancers.

“A major goal of our program is to facilitate an increase in the number of adolescents and young adults with cancer who participate in available research studies. This generous grant will go a long way toward improving that enrollment by supporting staff dedicated to that goal,” said Brandon Hayes-Lattin, M.D., medical director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.

Hayes-Lattin was diagnosed with cancer while he was pursuing his residency training in internal medicine. After recovering from the disease, he resolved to help other young people cope with the complicated world of cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery. In 2006, he started the Adolescent and Young Adult Program at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, which was one of the first programs of its kind in the country.

The infrastructure grants, combined with the more than $19.6 million awarded in June, bring the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s funding total to more than $21 million awarded in 2011. Infrastructure grants were awarded based on the need of the institution and its patients, anticipated results of the grant and local participation in St. Baldrick’s events.

“From my first event to now, I have only thought of what could I do to do more,” said John Bohannon, volunteer event organizer of the Oaks Park- 10th Annual Portland St. Baldrick’s Event. “Two years ago my wife, Katie, and I agreed to take the torch and lead the event. With the support of my wife, who gives every day at work as a nurse, my family who are used to giving back, Joe Farrar, who has a child with cancer, Steven Kassing and our community, we strive to be the event to beat for 2012."

Everyone can do their part to support St. Baldrick’s! To locate or organize an event in your community, sign-up to shave, donate or volunteer, visit www.StBaldricks.org. You can also become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join our letsCONQUER movement and visit the Foundation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

About the St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. The Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, a child’s best hope for a cure. Since the Foundation’s first grants as an independent charity in 2005, St. Baldrick’s has funded more than $78 million in childhood cancer research. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.