This holiday season, Brain Cancer Canada is pledging a donation match of up to $50,000 towards a research grant to study Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
DIPG is the most lethal type of pediatric brain cancer – the #1 cause of cancer death in children under 15. There are no known effective treatments. The survival rate is 0%. Surgery is typically not recommended because the outcome would likely cause more harm than good. Unlike with many other types of pediatric cancers, there has been very little progress in finding effective treatments due to the location of the tumour as well as lack of funding.
DIPG is an aggressive cancerous tumour that develops in the brain stem (pons). This brain area controls basic functions: breathing, hearing, talking, vision, and more. Studies suggest that the disease process is created by particular cells that exist in very high concentrations when the cerebral tissue is developing. This theory is supported by the fact that this tumour almost always occurs in mid-childhood – ages 5 to 10 – a period in which the cerebral tissue is developing very actively and rarely in adults.
Your gift would allow us to fund new research by doctors and scientists fighting to save children diagnosed with this devastating disease. With a donation of $250 or more, you can help fund critical DIPG research AND gift a child diagnosed with cancer one of our snuggly new ambassadors. *Full charitable tax receipt will be issued for all donations.
