YOU CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF YOUR CANCER FIGHT

After 24 years of fighting pediatric cancer, we have identified three critical opportunities to significantly reduce suffering and save children's lives.

HISTORY:

Twenty-three years ago, doctors told my wife and me that our 12-year-old daughter's relapse with neuroblastoma, a deadly pediatric cancer, was terminal. We refused to accept it. I began intensively researching medical journals, attending conferences, and traveling to the nation's top specialists focused on her disease. We found them. Recently, our daughter turned 35. Although her battle was brutal – seven surgeries, seven relapses, a double mastectomy, and 450 weeks of chemotherapy – she is one of the lucky ones. At the beginning of her journey, she befriended eight other children fighting the same cancer. As our daughter was relapsing, her friends were dying. When her last friend passed, we started End Kids Cancer, knowing pediatric cancer research is horribly underfunded.

CANCER NAVIGATION:

During our 24-year battle with cancer, we learned that our daughter's experience was not unique, and many children succumb to cancer needlessly because their doctors or parents are unaware of the most current and effective treatments. In addition, when frontline treatments fail, only a handful of centers have the know-how to deal with a relapse. As a result, we wrote a cancer guide, Steps to Hope. It teaches parents and caregivers how to find leading pediatric cancer centers focused on their child's cancer, to confirm their child's diagnosis, and is getting the latest and most effective treatments. It also shows families how to overcome the financial and emotional challenges that prevent many families from getting the life-saving treatments for their children. It works for adults fighting cancer as well.

"Steps to Hope" has been well-received among parents of children battling cancer, adult cancer patients, and highly respected cancer professionals. It has received praise from Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, cancer researcher and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and Dr. Fernando Stein, the former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Stein has stated that "Steps to Hope" should be present in every pediatrician's office in the country. With the assistance of Congresswoman Lois Capps, we sent a copy of "Steps to Hope" to then-Vice President Joe Biden. Subsequently, we were invited to the White House to represent pediatric cancer research at the Cancer Moonshot Summit.

CANCER/OTHER NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES PILOT INITIATIVE:

We also learned that there is a strong possibility our daughter could have AVOIDED cancer if we had had a small piece of information regarding toxic chemicals. We were unaware we were pregnant and moved into our new house, which was just tented for termites. The FDA removed the toxic chemical shortly after.

We have also learned that prevention or avoidance has a greater potential for reducing the suffering and loss caused by toxic chemicals.

This applies not only to cancer but also to other non-communicable diseases such as birth defects, autism, asthma, obesity, type two diabetes, lead poisoning, and adult-onset conditions like hypertension, heart disease, and cancer. Consequently, Dr. Philip Landrigan has joined our Medical Advisory Board. He is considered the world authority on toxic chemicals and their impact on children. His landmark research prompted the EPA to remove lead from household paint and gasoline in the 70s. Congress relied on him to evaluate the 911 site.

While treatments for cancer and other non-infectious diseases are improving, the incidence of these devastating diseases is increasing due to the elevated levels of toxic chemicals in our children's food and environment. 90% of cancer cases are attributed to environmental toxins. Occasionally, the government has admitted to doing a poor job of protecting our children.

Therefore, informing parents about the steps they can take to minimize their children's exposure to these toxic chemicals is crucial. We are developing a comprehensive educational program that leverages various forms of media to inform parents on how to reduce their children's exposure to toxic chemicals based on market research.

CANCER RESEARCH:We've financially supported clinical trials that harness the immune system to fight childhood cancer (neuroblastoma), increasing treatment efficacy while minimizing devastating side effects.

Research We Have Supported

• CAR T-cells, • Natural Killer Cells, • Bispecific Antibodies • Monoclonal Antibodies • Stem Cells • Liquid Biopsy • Microbiome • Bivalent Vaccine trial: 50% reduction in cancer relapse rates for a specific group of kids. • Chimeric and humanized monoclonal antibody

• Funding Liquid Biopsy Research to detect cancer earlier than currently possible with just a blood draw

• Microbiome Research to determine why treatments work for some children and not for others and develop more effective therapies (recent discovery: three bacteria in a child's gut that enhance the immune system's fight against cancer).

We accelerated two promising drugs with early funding, helping establish proof of concept and attracting subsequent multi-million-dollar support from the FDA and NCI.

The doctors we support consistently develop the protocols that have become the standard of care. We've seen these doctors care for and save children other centers have turned away, like our daughter. Our close relationships with top researchers at renowned centers (Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Texas Children's Hospital) enable us to invest in high-risk, early-stage research with confidence and maximize the impact of our donors' gifts.

We are raising funds for these three initiatives. This work has only been possible because of the kindness and compassion of our donors. Please consider donating

Frank Kalman.

Executive Director/Founder

End Kids Cancer

Phone: 805–550–7682

Email: frank@EndKidsCancer.org

1150 Fuller Rd.

San, Luis Obispo, California 93401