On November 29th, 2010 my daughter Hannah was diagnosed with a rare, extremely aggressive form of cancer. Philadelphia Chromosome Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (PH+ ALL). Back in the late 90's, Novartis developed a new innovative targeted gene therapy drug called Gleevec. The drug was different than traditional chemotherapy drugs in that it targeted the mechanism/result of the Philadelphia chromosome solely, rather than blindly attack all cells, healthy or cancerous. Gleevec, or Imatinib Mesylate, was the first in a long line of Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors that are widely used in all kinds of targeted therapy today. Gleevec was developed specifically for Chronic Myloid Leukemia, which is usually caused by the Philadelphia Chromosomal translocation, and has proven to be effective for long term survival for many of those suffering from CML. In Ph+ ALL however, the molecular makeup is slightly different, and Gleevec has been found to be effective, but usually just temporarily. In late 2009, a Children's Oncology Group Study concluded determining what dosing level of Gleevec were most effective for kids with Ph+ ALL. That was just one year before Hannah was diagnosed, and this is the exact type of study that is supported by St Baldrick's. Hannah's disease was at the lowest level detectable right before she received her bone marrow transplant from her sister Fiona. The doctors were ecstatic, and we attribute this to Hannah taking Gleevec along with her specified chemotherapy regiment, all would not have been possible without study's like the COG study that concluded just one year before Hannah was diagnosed. Again, these are the types of studies financially supported by St Baldrick's, and we truly believe that Hannah's progress is in part a direct result of this research. This Saturday, 3/14/20, I will be embracing baldness in support of St Baldrick’s, and I wanted to ask for your support, anything you can give here on my donation page is greatly appreciated! Hannah, myself, and kids fighting cancer everywhere thank you immensely.....
