In order to humanize the battle against childhood brain tumors, this May during Brain Tumor Awareness Month, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) invites the public to see the faces and names behind the disease. Using social media, PBTF will feature the names, faces and stories of kids being kids despite having been diagnosed with a brain tumor. They will invite other patient families to share their names and stories using the hashtag #GiveHopeAName. Members of the public will be challenged to join the fight by adding their own names as supporters of the nonprofit, becoming the “face behind the cure.”
Pediatric brain tumor survivor Jessica Blankenship has said, “Kids shouldn’t have to worry about fighting this deadly disease. They should just have the opportunity to be kids.”
In the U.S., more than 4,600 children age 0-19 will be diagnosed with a primary brain or central nervous system tumor in 2021. Brain tumors are now the most common form of cancer in children under the age of 15. While previous research has pushed the survival rate as high as 74%, with more than 100 types of pediatric brain tumors in need of a cure, much additional research is needed. Current treatments are often ineffective and toxic, leaving children who survive into adulthood with numerous serious chronic health conditions impacting their long-term quality of life.
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation is the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to kids battling brain cancer and is spearheading a worldwide movement to provide hope to children with brain tumors to live out their full potential, and to increase the public’s level of urgency for a cure. The PBTF is dedicated to maximizing the number of life-changing therapies in clinics today and working to turn more scientific discoveries into treatments.
Sign up to receive updates about the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and the #GiveHopeAName campaign here.
About the Pediatric Brain Tumor FoundationEvery day, 13 children and teens are diagnosed with a brain tumor, the deadliest form of childhood cancer. Every day after, they are in a fight for their life. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation works for a world without childhood brain tumors, where children get to be children and don’t have to fight lifelong battles. A leader in the brain tumor and childhood cancer communities, PBTF’s mission of Care. Cure. Thrive. reflects its commitment to curing all pediatric brain tumors and transforming how children and their families are cared for. Since 1991, PBTF has provided strategic leadership and funding to accelerate the number of targeted therapies for children battling brain tumors today, while equipping families with the patient family education, financial relief, and emotional support needed to navigate their child’s journey. Together we can be the reason these families and children have hope. Learn more at www.curethekids.org.
