Housing for Families in Treatment During COVID-19 supporting Band of Parents
Housing for Families in Treatment During COVID-19
Housing for Families in Treatment During COVID-19 supporting Band of Parents
About Band of Parents
With your support, we can find a cure for neuroblastoma, while reducing the highly toxic nature of treatment. One day, we hope antibodies will replace chemotherapy.
Band of Parents is the top independent backer of neuroblastoma research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Our mission is to seek projects that have already been examined in the lab and are in need of assistance to rapidly move into a patient population. In the 1980s, fewer than 5% of children diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma survived. Although today, most major medical centers like MSKCC have over a 50% survival rate, far too many children are still dying of this disease. The sad fact is that due to the high cost of research and the small number of children diagnosed annually, pediatric cancer is severely underfunded by both the pharmaceutical industry and the federal government. Less than 4% of the National Cancer Institute’s funding goes to fight pediatric cancer. We support our members through their children’s battle with neuroblastoma. Together, we are Bound by Hope that a cure is out there. We will continue this fight until not a single child is lost to this disease.
Having a child in treatment for neuroblastoma is challenging enough; navigating it during a global pandemic is harrowing. Today, families with children in treatment in New York City are facing a special challenge: not only do they have to worry about keeping their kids safe from COVID-19 while simultaneously fighting neuroblastoma, but also a lack of housing options.
The Band of Parents is asking for your help to subsidize housing for these families.
We will be reserving a dedicated floor of hotel on the East Side of Manhattan for these families, granting them easy access to their appointments at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The rooms will all have a kitchenette for storing medicine and meal preparation. In addition, we are also working to provide dedicated drivers, and essentials such as hand sanitizer, masks, and toiletries, so that these families have less to worry about and can focus on their child's treatment.
The Band of Parents is a member-based grassroots organization with the goal of funding innovative clinical trials and new therapies for neuroblastoma, a rare and deadly cancer that mostly strikes children. We are also a support network for the newly diagnosed and their families as they go through treatment. Our mission is to fast track a cure through less toxic and targeted therapies. To date, the Band of Parents has committed nearly $10 million to pediatric cancer research. Learn more at www.bandofparents.org.