Pictured above: Bennett at Par for the Kids with his dad Jason and other golfers.
In March 2018, our 9-year-old son, Bennett, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After several months of balance and motor skill issues, our pediatrician sent him for an MRI. Our hearts shattered when the doctor pulled us into a quiet room and gave us the news no parent should ever have to hear:
“We found something on the MRI.”
These words changed our lives forever. The radiologist had found a tumor in the middle of Bennett’s brain. Once the initial shock of his diagnosis began to wear off, we met with a pediatric oncologist and neurosurgeon and quickly realized there weren’t many great treatment options. Chemotherapy treatments – many of which were developed for adults and different types of cancer – would just be a band-aid that could cause permanent damage to his heart and other organs and secondary cancers later in life. Radiation is also harmful to developing brains, especially in very young children. And while there have been cutting-edge advancements in adult brain tumor treatments, similar research has not kept pace for kids.
Children with brain cancer can’t wait another week, another day, another minute for your support. When you donate to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, you help fund life-changing research and provide families with the resources and support they need. Don’t let pediatric brain cancer steal another future.
Realizing there’s no real cure for our son’s tumor was a shock.
We wanted to change things. We wanted to feel like we were doing something – not only for our son, but for the thousands of kids in our community and around the world who are living with brain cancer.
That’s why we started Par for the Kids, an annual golf tournament that benefits the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Since 2019, Par for the Kids has raised over $140,000 for pediatric brain tumor research. Every dollar brings us one step closer to more effective and less harmful treatments. Every dollar brings us one step closer to a cure.
Kids like Bennett don’t have time to wait another month, another week, another day for us to raise money to stop the deadliest childhood disease. They deserve an opportunity to live full lives right now. Join us in taking action today.
– Elizabeth and Jason Testa, Bennett’s parents
My brain tumor experience is something I think about every day of my life, but the outside world likes to erase that and pretend it didn’t happen. It’s too “taboo” or “uncomfortable.” So, this year, on the 7th anniversary of my surgery, I want to talk about it.
In June 2018, Valentina was diagnosed with a pediatric low-grade glioma with a BRAF mutation. At the time, she was only one year old. Surgery was not an option, so her family had two choices for treatment—traditional chemotherapy or an experimental treatment suitable for her type of mutation.
Combining her love for reading and desire to give back to help kids with brain tumors like her, Zoe created Books 4 Brains to raise money for pediatric brain cancer research. Join her upcoming Books 4 Brains read-a-thon and support the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation's research funding efforts.
A new bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by Senator Shelley B. Mayer and Assembly Member Christopher Burdick will help remove some of the barriers standing between children with cancer and the learning accommodations they need to succeed in school. The Pediatric Cancer Neuropsychological Needs Assessment Act (NY State S.8750) would require insurers to provide coverage for neuropsychological assessments for children diagnosed with cancer that affects brain development or function.
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) is proud to welcome Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, to the PBTF’s Board of Directors. Dr. Gupta will bring his wide-ranging experiences in medical practice and journalism, including as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, associate professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine, and chief medical correspondent for CNN, to bear as a valuable and expert advocate for pediatric brain tumor patients, survivors, and their families.
