St. Baldrick's Foundation

Mary was 4 years old when she was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor called DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma). This extremely aggressive and difficult-to-treat tumor strikes at the base of the brain. Children rarely live more than six to nine months after a DIPG diagnosis, and during that time they lose the ability to walk, talk, see, hear, and eventually breathe. But Mary was patient #007 on a clinical trial that your donations made possible. With St. Baldrick's support, the EPICC Team (Empowering Pediatric Immunotherapies for Childhood Cancer) uses genomics to discover the most strategic targets the immune system should attack, to kill cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone. Once they discover a target, the team develops weapons the immune system can use to attack them. Then the team tests these new therapies in clinical trials — like the CAR-T phase one study that Mary was on. Mary’s own cells were altered and then given back to her, to enable her immune system to fight off cancer. During almost 3 years of treatment, Mary was able to re-learn to walk, jump, swing and dance. She went from preschool to kindergarten to first grade. She found a love for chapter books and Barbies, and enjoyed play dates with friends. Mary spent far more time in the hospital than any seven-year-old should have, with frequent trips from home in Colorado to treatment in California. But for 41 months - years longer than most DIPG patients - Mary LIVED. When her cancer battle ended on March 4th, she donated her brain and tumor to research, giving one last gift of hope for a cure for other kids diagnosed with DIPG. Mary is one of thousands of children and teens who have fought cancer and allowed researchers to use their data to develop better treatments so that someday others will survive. And the EPICC team is just one of hundreds of St. Baldrick's supported research projects working toward that goal. Your support of research will save lives.