Children’s Hospital Central California Receives Childhood Cancer Research Grant

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Traci Shirk
626-792-8247 ext. 50
traci@stbaldricks.org

Children’s Hospital Central California Receives Childhood Cancer Research Grant

St. Baldrick’s Foundation awards $50,534 to help kids with cancer

MADERA, Calif. (December 19, 2011) – 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 $50,534 to Children’s Hospital Central California. These 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.

“Thanks to the support we receive, we provide education, interventions, counseling and screening for late occurring side effects of childhood cancer therapy,” said Dr. John Gates, a hematologist/oncologist at Children’s Hospital Central California “This work allows us to reduce morbidities and mortality associated with the late effects of childhood cancer therapy, and allows improvement in the quality of life for our patients and families as they take charge of their own healthcare and transition to adulthood.”

The fall 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.

“We here at Children’s Hospital Central California are so glad to be a part of St. Baldrick's,” said Malynda Gonzales, volunteer event organizer of the Children’s Hospital Central California event. “The local event means so much to our patients and their families. The outpouring of community support has been wonderful and we expect it to increase with every passing year.”

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.

About Children’s Hospital Central California
For nearly 60 years Children’s Hospital Central California has provided hope, healing and the best medical care for children of the region. Children’s is a not-for-profit, state-of-the-art children’s hospital on a 50-acre campus situated on the bluffs of the San Joaquin River. With 348 beds and a medical staff of more than 525 physicians, Children’s is the second-largest children’s hospital in California and one of the 10 largest hospitals of its type in the nation. The mission of Children's Hospital is to provide high quality, comprehensive healthcare services to children, regardless of their ability to pay, and to continuously improve the health and well-being of children. Thanks to generous community support, the Hospital continues on its mission of service and healing.