Season’s Greetings from Press On!

What a Year!

Dear Amazing Press On Supporters,

Hello, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays! We are excited to bring you these exciting updates from the forefront of childhood cancer research.

First, an update from Target Pediatric AML. You may remember that Press On granted $250,000 to this groundbreaking initiative in personalized, precision medicine just last year. Thanks to the success of TpAML, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has announced their first ever initiative for children’s leukemia. Joining forces with LLS is going to skyrocket the impact of TpAML; the LLS PedAL initiative is a global precision medicine master clinical trial that will test multiple targeted therapies simultaneously at up to 200 clinical sites worldwide. They are currently laying the groundwork with the goal to treat the first patients in summer 2020.

We also received an update from the neuroblastoma vaccine trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering, to which we granted $150,000 last year. Their trial resulted in an 80-96% survival rate for first remission neuroblastoma patients, and 50-90% survival for patients with one or more previous relapses. Because of these promising results, the trial is in the process of going international, with additional clinical sites planned in the US, Europe, and Asia!

Press On has also been enjoying evenings with the Hometown Harmony Project this year! A collaborative effort between Press On, 12 Bands of Christmas, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta, Hometown Harmony Project is a community of music lovers dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children (and their families) being treated for childhood cancer at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia. If you are in or near the Augusta, GA area, join the club to attend four to six shows a year featuring amazing musicians and storytellers. For more information visit the Hometown Harmony homepage.

Finally, Press On is proud to inform you that on October 22, 2019, we announced a $1 million grant to Augusta University’s Pediatric Immunotherapy Program! This grant, given in four yearly installments of $250,000, will support a brain tumor trial by Drs. Theodore Johnson and David Munn. The trial focuses on an enzyme inhibitor that unleashes the natural immune response of the patient, allowing for lower doses of chemotherapy and radiation– meaning less toxicity and better quality of life in treatment. Meant for tough recurring pediatric brain tumors or newly diagnosed DIPG (the toughest of them all with less than 1% 5-year survival rate), this treatment will hopefully open the doors for a cure to some of the world’s most challenging pediatric brain tumors.

We have already raised the first two years of installments for this promising research, but we will need your continued support to raise the second $500,000. We hope you will remember us in your year-end giving as we continue the fight to cure childhood cancer in our lifetime. All donations are tax deductible and 100% of your contributions go to fighting this horrible disease.

Xoxo+Press On