2025 marks my 19th year to participate in a St. Baldrick's event. If a cure had been found, I would have stopped this long ago. The number of treatment options targeted specifically for pediatric cancers is extremely low, so the mission continues!

Our honored hero, Patrick McSweeney, is alive today due to the research funded in part by St. Baldrick's.  CART-19 clinical studies, of which he was patient #34 "back in the day" of 2014, continue to progress in effectiveness. Yet, CART-19 is still not a cure for some patients, including Patrick.  He required a second bone marrow transplant and is now cancer free! There is a price to pay, and that is the regimen of anti-rejection drugs he will be on for the rest of his life, as well as the damage to organs and systems in his body as a result of years of chemotherapy and radiation.

1 in 5 pediatric cancer patients will not survive.  Nearly all survivors experience some type of life-threatening condition by the time they are 50. Assuming they make it to that "ripe old age".  Most experience a life-impacting condition from the time chemotherapy, radiation or surgery begins for the rest of their lives. Being cancer-free isn't without another set of challenges.

A classroom of children will be diagnosed with cancer today. Another class room will be diagnosed with cancer tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Imagine standing in the hallway of your child's or niece's or grandson's school each day of the coming schoolweek.  And over the PA of morning announcements, the principal announces which classroom is diagnosed today. Yes, that is unimaginable, but the numbers tell otherwise.

Recent changes in the federal government are causing drops in funding to institutions which support research, transfer of knowledge worldwide and progress in the battle to find cures for the various pediatric cancer lineages.  Because of this, organizations such as St. Baldrick's become even more crucial to progressing the mission.

Each year, I grow my hair back in anticipation of this wonderful and worthy event.  Each year, I notice less and less hair grows back! So this year, I've added the beard so it, too, can be whacked!  It'll come off IF I meet my $5000 goal!  It's up to you, the generous support team for Team Fighting Irishman, to make the hair - and beard - disappear on Sunday, March 23rd!  

Thank you for your very generous support of TFI!

Sliante!

Mike McSweeney