Camino de Santiago Fundraiser for Neuroblastoma supporting Band of Parents
Band of Parents

About Neuroblastoma and Band of Parents

Neuroblastoma is an aggressive, pediatric cancer, mostly striking children less than 5 years of age and is diagnosed in approximately 700 children each year in the US. It's cause is unknown. Arising in the developing nerves of a child, it often appears as a tumor in the chest or abdomen. Neuroblastoma is difficult to treat, with patients suffering multiple relapses. 

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 federal government. 

Band of Parents is a grassroots, nonprofit organization and was formed to fund innovative research and clinical trials to help increase the survival rate of this deadly cancer. Band of Parents has funded more than $10 million dollars over the last 14 years to help save lives and continues its mission to fast-track a cure, using less toxic, targeted therapies.

2019 is a year we will never forget. Our son Eliot was diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive pediatric cancer of the central nervous system. The pandemic hit soon after and we have journeyed parallel to a world turned upside down.

Fast forward a couple of years later and Eliot is growing, expanding, learning and finally going back to the other side of the ocean to visit his Spanish family. We are very fortunate and grateful to have this opportunity.

We have met many others who have lost their children to this disease and I can't help but feel I have to do more. So, in order to give a voice to those who have fought and lost their battle, along with those who continue to fight, as well as the survivors, I will be walking the Camino de Santiago starting on July 7, 2022 from Saint-Jean Pied de Port in the southwest of France and ending in Burgos, Spain around July 22nd.

The Camino is a pilgrimage that one can walk all over Europe with Santiago de Compostela as the final destination. 

To give a voice and a face to these warriors and families who really are a Band of Brothers and Parents, I will take requests to leave an initialed stone along the trail, to give honor and hope to a loved one. To free a burden. To try and manifest a miracle. 

Make a donation of any amount and leave me a message with the initials of your warrior and I will write it in stone, set it on the Camino, photograph the spot and send it back to you with a GPS location. Every donation will help Band of Parents support critical research and clinical trials to fast-track a cure for neuroblastoma.

Please donate in honor of all children battling neuroblastoma. Together, we are bound by hope that one day, no child will die of this disease.

Thank you,

Jameth Mikan

P.S. If you want to follow me on my journey, please read my blog: https://pilgrimsforcures.wordpress.com/