Five years ago, we began our mission. With only 4% of the national cancer research budget allocated to pediatric cancer, and only three new cancer drugs developed for children in the past twenty years, the team at Hackensack Meridian Health Children’s Cancer Institute recognized the need for a philanthropic program to help increase funding for pediatric cancer research. Tackle Kids Cancer was launched alongside our partner, The New York Football Giants, to join corporations, community members, and researchers in the fight against pediatric cancer.
To date, the program has raised over $10 million, and has engaged thousands of companies, athletes, community members, and families in our cause. With the help of these funds, The Children’s Cancer Institute is able to provide more options, more treatments, access to more clinical trials, and most importantly – more hope.
Children and their families at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital now have treatment options for diseases once thought to be incurable. Through the work of Tackle Kids Cancer, our patient-care programs, driven by innovative research and clinical trials, are reaching patients and families all throughout the state and nation. In 2019, our program was named one of the top 50 pediatric oncology programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report.
As we look toward the future, our physician researchers are conducting cutting-edge research at Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation in the fields of neuro-oncology, sarcoma, and immunotherapy. This relationship will enable our patients to access true bench to bedside research innovations.
We are most grateful for our community support. With all of our efforts, we will work towards our vision of a world where we have successfully tackled childhood cancer.