St. Baldrick’s Foundation Experts Available for Comment on Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Top Pediatric Oncologists and Leaders Available to Discuss Childhood Cancers

LOS ANGELES (August 21, 2014) – September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the world’s largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, has leading pediatric oncologists, researchers, philanthropy executives and survivors available to comment on current issues affecting the pediatric cancer community.

The St. Baldrick’s experts featured below can address the following key issues:

Federal Funding for Childhood Cancers Continues to Decline:

• Over the past decade, total National Cancer Institute (NCI) budget cuts for pediatric clinical trials are now more than 30 percent (adjusted for inflation).
• Childhood cancer research funding accounts for less than 4 percent of all cancer research funding by the federal government.
• The pharmaceutical industry invests heavily in research for adult cancers, but has not made a measureable investment in childhood cancers.

Declining Federal Support Undermines America’s Research Edge and Worsens Outlook for Childhood Cancer Research:

• China, India and European nations are increasing their investment in medical research, while the U.S. is cutting-back – China recently surpassed Japan in R&D investment, and is second only to the U.S.
• This further squeezes an already tight market for childhood cancer research, as young researchers pursue other career paths where funding is more plentiful.

Need for New and Improved Treatments:

• Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of children in the U.S. The average number of years of life lost to cancer for kids is 71 years, compared to 15 years for adults.
• More than 80 percent of survivors will suffer from severe or life-threatening conditions as a result of the very treatment that saved their life.
• Incredibly, a few childhood cancers have cure rates over 90 percent, while others still have survival rates at or just above zero.

Experts available for comment:

• Kathleen Ruddy, CEO, St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers.
• Charles Chamness, Chairman of the St. Baldrick’s Board of Directors and Father of Joey, a 17-year-old childhood cancer survivor. As a St. Baldrick’s volunteer event organizer in 2005, he became committed to the Foundation’s mission when his son Joey was being treated for osteosarcoma.
• Amy Bucher, St. Baldrick’s Foundation Board Member, lost her daughter, Arden, to cancer in 2008. Since then, Amy has become an advocate for finding more effective, less toxic treatments for kids with cancer and chairs the St. Baldrick’s advocacy committee.
• Robert Arceci, M.D., Ph.D., St. Baldrick’s Foundation Scientific Advisors Chair and Board Member. Director of the Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Division; Director of the Ronald A. Matricaria Institute of Molecular Medicine at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

St. Baldrick’s can also connect media with local childhood cancer survivors and families to discuss the importance of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month as well as share their first-hand experiences.

This summer, St. Baldrick’s announced funding of more than $24.7 million for new, innovative childhood cancer research projects. There are many visual opportunities to build out stories about St. Baldrick’s during September. We can have you attend a signature St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event, visit the lab of a St. Baldrick’s funded researcher or meet with a St. Baldrick’s Honored Family.

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. St. Baldrick’s coordinates its signature head-shaving events worldwide where participants collect pledges to shave their heads in solidarity with kids with cancer, raising money to fund research. Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s has awarded more than $152 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, and the new International Scholar grants train researchers to work in developing countries. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.

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