Of all the trials and challenges that God gives us as parents, just imagine the worst, your child is diagnosed with cancer. Jacob was diagnosed on May 12, 1998 with Stage IV Neuroblastoma. He received several rounds of chemotherapy, 9 hours of major surgery, a stem cell transplant, radiation, monoclonal antibody therapy andcis-retinoic acid (Accutane) over the course of 2 years. As of May 2009, Jacob has been in remission for over 10 years. His only residual problem has been a hearing loss managed with the help of hearing aids.He gets yearly visits and blood counts with his oncologist, but otherwise leads a normal kid's life. This is due to the excellent medical care received, the prayers and support of so many people, and to the research and care of the Neuroblastoma Team of doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. More of Jacob's story may be found in an article written about Jacob, to read the full text, click here.
For information about our efforts towards Alex's Lemonade Stand check out the Advocacy/Alex's Page on this website.
Nick, Mark, Cheryl, and Jacob, with Barney (From left to right)
Since this disease only has less than a 50% survival rate we feel that we have been granted something very special. Unfortunately, because neuroblastoma is a rare disease (500-600 cases in USA/year), not much funding goes into it.The Katie-Find-A-Cure fund was started by a family whose child, Katie, passed away at the age of 2 1/2 from neuroblastoma. They have high praise for the doctors at Sloan Kettering who tried to save her life and want to help other children going through this ordeal now. These are the same doctors who developed the protocols Jacob was treated with, and we are also very grateful. All donations are 100% tax deductible and people will receive an acknowledgement from Sloan Kettering for their contribution.
Katie Find a Cure Fund Attn: Kathy and Joe Figliuolo PO Box 87852 Canton, MI48187
OR:
Katie’s Find A Cure Fund Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) Attn: Carol Blumenfeld, Gifts Officer 1275 York Avenue New York, NY10021
Checks should be made payable to "Katie's Find A Cure-Neuroblastoma". Every penny goes towards Neuroblastoma research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY, one of the top neuroblastoma research institutions in the world. Any amount helps!
