10 Lives Saved

You may have seen (on my other blogs, or on the Ben Towne Foundation website and facebook page) that we attended the Ben Towne Foundation's #BTFBenefit2014 last Friday evening. What you may not know (though I hope you do) is that the Katie Gerstenberger Endowment supports the same research that the Ben Towne Foundation funds. The income which accrues on the principal of the endowment goes to the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research.

#BTFBenefit2014

On Friday evening, we celebrated this news from the Ben Towne Center:
- a clinical trial for the treatment of neuroblastoma has been submitted to the FDA for approval and
- 10 PATIENTS who have been treated with T-cell therapy ARE IN REMISSION!

Ten patients who had experienced relapse, who had no other treatment options - whose hope for a cure was completely exhausted, and were facing death - those ten children are now in remission.

Ten families are not heartbroken today - parents, siblings, extended family and community - have their precious, beloved child with them. Ten families did not have to sign "do not resuscitate" forms, did not have to request hospice care, did not have to plan a memorial service, pick a headstone, face an empty bedroom.

Ten.

Your donations to the Katie Gerstenberger Endowment support this ground-breaking, life-restoring work. Thank you!

Another Patient in Remission!

Seattle Children's Hospital's Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research has announced that the second patient in the (PLAT)-01 clinical trial of therapy for relapsed leukemia at the is in remission! This is the work which the Katie Gerstenberger Endowment (and the Ben Towne Foundation) supports. Both Dr. Gardner and Dr. Park treated Katie when she was in the hospital, and she would be thrilled with their success, and the good work which her endowment is supporting and moving forward.

You can read all about it here:
From hopeless to cancer free

FABULOUS NEWS!

We have FABULOUS news at the Katie Gerstenberger Endowment for Cancer Research. Because of your generosity - you, our family and friends - the value of the endowment is now at an all-time high of $224,168!
This is beyond our wildest dreams of what would be raised in Katie's memory, and she would be thrilled. She would also be thrilled with the advancements in cancer research, and the hope that this means for patients like her. Here is a news flash from the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research (which Katie's endowment supports):

  "NEWSFLASH FROM THE BEN TOWNE CENTER:

"The second clinical trial application using reprogrammed T cells was submitted to the FDA today! This trial (PLAT-02) will be for relapsed pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (post-transplant).

"Our thanks to the entire team at the Ben Towne Center for your incredible efforts!"

The principal of Katie's endowment remains in trust at Seattle Children's Hospital; the income from Katie's endowment is donated to the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research (BTCCCR) each year (usually 2x a year).

If you would like to take a tour of the BTCCCR, let me know and I will help you arrange it.

The Katie Gerstenberger Endowment at Seattle Children's Hospital

Dear Friends,

This blog was created to keep you up to date on what is going on over at the Katie Gerstenberger Endowment for Cancer Research (solid tumors) at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Katie was a vibrant, active, intelligent, kind, funny sparkly girl of 11 when she was diagnosed with a huge tumor in her abdomen. She had no symptoms until about 3 weeks before her diagnosis, when she began to exhibit the symptoms of a virus. After 3 weeks of clinic visits and tests, the horrendous news came that she was in grave danger of losing her life, and had to be admitted to the hospital immediately. Experts were consulted in various places around the world to diagnose her specific type of tumor, and to determine the best course of treatment for it.

We spent the next 5 months supporting Katie as she endured 5 rounds of toxic chemotherapy, as well as an 18-hour surgery to remove the tumor (and a kidney, adrenal gland, inferior vena cava and a lobe of her liver). It's a miracle that she survived this surgery, and she spent 6 weeks in the hospital, recovering from it. She then was allowed to go home to recuperate further, and began to take a pill-form of "maintenance" chemotherapy. By early summer, she was strong enough to go to the American Cancer Society's Camp Goodtimes West (on Vashon Island) for a week with her brother, David.

Sadly, a couple of weeks after camp, Katie began to suffer from severe pain. We took her to the clinic, and then to the hospital for a CT scan, & upon reviewing it, her doctor discovered another large tumor - but this one was inoperable. We took Katie home to begin hospice care.

The one bright spot during this time was that Katie's dream of being a bridesmaid came true. She was the maid of honor for her cousin Andrea's wedding to Mike Cunningham. Katie LOVED being their maid of honor. We treasure those memories.

We (Katie's family) created this endowment in her honor, and we asked Katie what she wanted the funds to be used for. Her answer was that she wanted the endowment to support research to find a cure for solid tumors such as the one she had, which was adrenocortical carcinoma. She knew that the endowment was started before she passed away. The principal of the endowment is preserved, and the income is collected and used to fund research.

When Katie passed away, we asked people to donate to her endowment instead of sending flowers to us. The did this very generously, and many people have continued to support the endowment. It was up to nearly $80,000.00 last summer, before the stock market took a tumble. It is now near $66,000.00, and Dr. Julie Park (Katie's oncologist) is the one who advises us on where the income can best be used to carry out Katie's wishes.

If you would like to know more about the Katie Gerstenberger Endowment for Cancer Research, please leave a comment here. If you would like to donate to Seattle Children's Hospital in Katie's memory, please click HERE.