Access to a Cure
Diagnosis to Transplant – Reducing barriers to a cure
1. The family is informed their child is diagnosed with one of 80 different cancers, leukemias, lymphoma, aplastic anemia or related life-threatening blood diseases that a marrow, stem cell transplant or cellular therapy is the only treatment and the best hope for a cure. Depending on the disease it may be the preferred treatment upfront or this news may come after the child’s disease has returned (i.e., a relapse).
2. After the initial devastation of the news of diagnosis, Kids Beating Cancer is here for the families, to reduce the barriers to care and reduce the burdens that can overwhelm the families.
3. The child (the patient), their siblings (if there are any), and parents are HLA typed. This may or may not be fully covered or have limits of coverage under insurance or Medicaid. At the Kids Beating Cancer Pediatric Transplant Center at AdventHealth for Children, testing is sponsored by Kids Beating Cancer’s “Fund the Match” program to AdventHealth for Children when not covered by Medicaid.
4. Seventy percent of the time, a compatible donor IS NOT found within the family. The next step is a search for an unrelated donor nationally and internationally. The formal search for a compatible donor from a national donor registry is not funded by Medicaid. Through Kids Beating Cancer’s “Fund the Match” program, a search for the best matching donor is initiated.
If a physician has recommended that a child needs a stem cell transplant to treat their child’s disease, they have many things to think about. They will to try to prepare their family for the challenges ahead. Kids beating Cancer is here to walk with the child and their families through the treatment process providing access to the best hope for a cure.
YOU can help these families during the devastating and draining journey to a cure desperate for what every parent wants – their child to be healthy, happy, and to live out their dreams! YOUR support of Kids Beating Cancer’s Children’s Fund will save children’s lives!
