$200,000 Childhood Cancer Research Grant Awarded to Cure 4 The Kids Foundation

LAS VEGAS (January 31, 2013) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven and donor-centered charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, is proud to award a one-year infrastructure grant of $200,000 to Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. The Foundation’s infrastructure grants provide resources to institutions enabling them to conduct more research and enroll more kids in clinical trials.

Worldwide a child is diagnosed with cancer every three minutes, and one in five children diagnosed in the U.S. will not survive. These startling realities combined with the looming budget cuts that could potentially limit access to clinical trials and delay the progress of promising research, make the Foundation’s efforts to conquer childhood cancers critical.

This grant provides resources to bring together two different medical groups and multiple pediatric cancer doctors to make sure that children in Northern Nevada have access to clinical trials and the treatments they need through Cure 4 The Kids Foundation’s Children’s Specialty Center in Reno, Nev. The program involves bringing qualified members of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) to northern and rural Nevada, a region lacking in the specialized services required to provide access to the most current treatment standards for childhood cancers. The Cure 4 The Kids Foundation has created a “Visiting Physician” program where providers from Oakland, Calif., and providers from Las Vegas travel to northern and rural Nevada to “job share.” This job sharing has created full-time qualified pediatric oncology coverage for this region of the country through the Children’s Specialty Center of Nevada’s Reno location.

“The St. Baldrick’s grant(s) are more than important to my program. We never turn a child away, even if we know that their individual care will cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars. Therefore the funds we receive from St. Baldrick’s are critical to our programs’ success,” explains Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, M.D., Founder and Medical Director, Cure 4 The Kids Foundation.

This series of grants, combined with the more than $23 million awarded in July to fund cutting-edge research, brings the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s funding total to more than $25 million awarded in 2012. 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.

“Seven years ago, I never imagined that shaving heads could be so magical. Once the spirit of St. Baldrick’s gets in your blood, however, it never leaves,” said Adrienne Gutzwa, local St. Baldrick’s volunteer. “My passion for St. Baldrick’s has led to a more full-time commitment with Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. The grant money which the Foundation has been awarded continues to help us provide lifesaving treatment to all children, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. While our community is grateful for the grants we receive, it is the research St. Baldrick’s funds that will ultimately help find a cure for this deadly disease which impacts families worldwide. So until that day, we at McMullan’s Irish Pub will continue to do our part by proudly shaving heads to help conquer childhood cancers.”

To locate or organize an event in your community, sign-up to shave, donate or volunteer, visit www.StBaldricks.org. Also become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and visit the Foundation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

About 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. Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s has awarded more than $103 million to support lifesaving research, making the Foundation the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants. 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. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.

About Cure 4 The Kids:
The Children’s Specialty Center of Nevada and the Hemophilia Treatment Center Of Nevada are funded, in part, by the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. The 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization was founded in 2007 by Dr. Jonathan Bernstein to ensure children with life threatening illnesses received proper medical attention regardless of their family’s income or presence of health insurance. To date, more than 8,000 patients have been treated by physicians and medical staff at the Children’s Specialty Center and Hemophilia Treatment Center in Las Vegas and Reno. The Children’s Specialty Center provides medical treatment to children facing devastating diseases such as cancer, rheumatological diseases, as well as rare and ultra rare diseases. All our providers are Board Certified in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. The Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) of Nevada is the only Federally recognized HTC in the state. It is one of 140 HTCs around the country which provides individual services to children and adults with inherited bleeding disorders. Studies show people with Hemophilia who are treated at Federally recognized HTCs have lower overall healthcare costs, lower hospitalization rates and lower mortality rates than non-HTC users. The Cure 4 The Kids Foundation’s Charity Care plan ensures patients at The Children’s Specialty Center and the Hemophilia Treatment center receive medical treatment regardless of family income or presence of medical insurance. www.cure4thekids.org

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