San Diego, CA (PRWEB) April 7, 2008
The MagicWater Project today announced that $300K in grant money raised during a Q1 2008 fundraising effort has been swiftly distributed to three separate organizations dedicated to finding cures for the orphaned yet aggressive pediatric cancers Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma.
More information on Neuroblastoma can be found at http://www.magicwater.org/facts.
A grant of $50K was issued on January 3 to The Penelope & Sam Fund at The University of Vermont. The grant supports a Phase II clinical trial of Nifurtimox combined with standard chemotherapy agents to treat solid tumor pediatric patients under the direction of Giselle Sholler M.D and The Vermont Cancer Center.
A second grant of $100K was also awarded for the same purpose on February 18th followed by a third grant of $20K on February 27 to fund a pilot program that examines the strength of personalized treatment therapy for relapsed Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma patients. For more information about the Penelope & Sam Fund, please visit http://www.vermontcancer.org/index.php?page=penelope-and-sam.
A grant of $30K was awarded to The Band of Parents Foundation on January 3 and supports funding of a humanized antibody therapy currently under investigation at The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. For more information about The Band of Parents Foundation, please visit http://www.bandofparents.org.
Lastly, a grant of $100K was issued to The Children's Hospital of Atlanta on February 12th and funds preclinical investigation of potential agents that qualify for Phase I trials for their efficacy against Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma. The testing will be performed at the translational lab of Dr. Donald Durden, M.D., Ph.D. For more information about Dr. Donald Durden and The Children's Hospital of Atlanta, please visit http://www.choa.org/default.aspx?id=1290.
More information about current MagicWater Project fundraising and granting efforts can be found at http://www.MagicWater.org/projects.
About the MagicWater Project
The MagicWater Project is a dedicated fund of the San Diego Foundation (501c3), founded by the parents of children diagnosed with Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma pediatric cancers. An advocacy group, MagicWater is a fundraising organization that works strategically with leading pediatric oncologists and researchers to help fund pilot programs and Phase I clinical trials that speed the discovery of low-toxicity drugs and other innovative treatment options for children diagnosed with Neuroblastoma or Medulloblastoma.
The name MagicWater was derived from the explanation by the parents of an 18-month old girl about why she needed chemotherapy. During her treatments, her parents referred to her chemotherapy preparations as "magic water" to help her heal. Today, MagicWater is the inspiration behind all of the efforts of the foundation on behalf of children and parents, medical professionals and researchers dedicated to finding a cure for pediatric cancers. For more information, please visit http://www.magicwater.org.
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