News

Infrastructure Grants Help Kids with Cancer in South Texas

by Rebecca Bernot, St. Baldrick's Foundation
October 30, 2013

Dr._Poplack

Dr. David Poplack tells of the success of the Vannie E. Cook Children’s Cancer Clinic on the border of Texas and Mexico. The clinic has received St. Baldrick’s funding since 2009.

Yesterday we announced the 2013 infrastructure grant awards. These grants provide funds to institutions to enroll more children with cancer in clinical trials — often their best hope for a cure — or to help them gain the resources for more lifesaving pediatric cancer research.

Today we’re sharing with you a story that shows just how much these infrastructure grants can accomplish.

Dr. David Poplack, M.D., is the director of the Texas Children’s Cancer Center, which operates the Vannie E. Cook Children’s Cancer Clinic in McAllen, Texas. The city of McAllen sits on the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, separated from Mexico only by the Rio Grande River.

Prior to the opening of the clinic in 2001, kids with cancer in this region lacked access to treatment and sometimes even the necessary diagnostic tests. The clinic has been a recipient of St. Baldrick’s infrastructure grants for the past four years.

Dr. Poplack tells this story:

“Eleven years ago, we were curing over 70% of kids with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). When I first went to meet Rio Grande Valley residents, I was struck by the significant need for pediatric oncology clinical services in the region. We [Texas Children’s Cancer Center] worked with the Vannie E. Cook Foundation there to develop a childhood cancer clinic, which is a wonderfully modern clinic that has seen over 7,000 patients, the majority of whom are low-income families. These children now have the same excellent chance at survival that other children have nationwide.  St. Baldrick’s has been funding that clinic since 2009, and you are a huge part of its success! We can’t possibly thank you enough for your support!”

You can give hope to kids with cancer everywhere. Make a donation today.

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Like this story? You might also like this infrastructure grant success story.

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