What Keeps Me Up At Night
Working for Rally is such a blessing, and such a challenge. It’s a blessing to get to know these families who are fighting the childhood cancer beast. They are in a war, involving battle after battle, and sometimes they take one step forward then it seems like five steps back. But, they forge ahead, fighting through tears and finding joy in the simplest pleasures. And it is such a blessing that these families stand behind Rally’s mission to find better treatments and, ultimately, cures for childhood cancers. It's a blessing to meet so many amazing people—from adults, kids and small business owners to Fortune 100 companies—who truly want to give help and hope to families fighting the childhood cancer beast. These people understand how critical it is to fund childhood cancer research even though it isn’t “hip” or “cool”. It’s a blessing to call childhood cancer researchers and let them...
How Rally’s Grant Helped Rally Researcher Dr. Michael Kinnaman: Part 2
Rally Researcher, Medical Advisory Board member and pediatric oncologist Dr. Michael Kinnaman is the recipient of Rally’s Postdoctoral and Clinical Research Fellow Grant and most recently was awarded a 2020 Young Investigator Grant. In part two of this two-part series, Dr. Kinnaman reveals how our grant has helped fund his research project on characterizing osteosarcoma tumor cells that are resistant to our current therapy with the end goal of discovering new treatment strategies that are specifically targeted towards these resistant tumor cells. Read part one here. Dr. Kinnaman Seeks to Understand the Complexities of Osteosarcoma One of the first patients I saw as a fellow at MSK Kids, Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Pediatric program, was a 12-year-old boy with newly diagnosed osteosarcoma of his right thigh bone. Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and...
The CARES Act: Great News for Taxpayers and Charitable Donations
Our world has been turned upside down in 2020. The spread of COVID-19 has brought about feelings of fear, worry and uncertainty throughout the world—especially in those who are immunocompromised, like our precious Rally Kids. These children and their parents already know what it’s like to live in fear of getting sick. Sanitizing every surface, homeschooling, wearing gloves and masks in public, and next-level hand-washing are just a handful of the precautions these kids take on a regular basis. Now, we must all do the same to protect not only our Rally Kids but other at-risk populations as well. Despite the unknowns that lie ahead, we received a bit of good news on Friday, March 27 when it was announced that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. For nonprofits, the $2 trillion economic stimulus package will...
Why I Chose Pediatric Oncology and Research
Rally Researcher and pediatric oncologist Dr. Michael Kinnaman received a Rally Postdoctoral and Clinical Research Fellow Grant. In part one of this two-part series, Dr. Kinnaman shares his story and why he was drawn to pediatric oncology and research. Have you ever wondered about the career path of a pediatric oncologist and clinical researcher? Dr. Kinnaman's journey began with a decision made during his sophomore year in college. Having dual passions for law and science, Dr. Kinnaman majored in both political science and biology. He had envisioned earning a law degree after graduation and working for a biotechnology or pharmaceutical company. However, this vision began to change after a foray into clinical research, as well as a brief hospital stay. The following is part one of our two-part blog series: Dr. Kinnaman Shares How He Discovered His Passion For Medicine My journey to...
World Health Day
Today is World Health Day and this year it takes on a whole new meaning. It’s hard to believe the entire world has basically been self-quarantining, social distancing and on high alert because of COVID-19. Here in the U.S. we are bracing ourselves for a tough few weeks as cases and deaths are expected to increase. But you know what else has increased? The American spirit. We are all jumping in to help where we can: from those at home making face masks and getting food for immunocompromised family and neighbors, to the first responders showing up at the hospitals, to the grocery store workers stocking shelves, to Delta Air Lines providing free flights to first responders who volunteered to go to our hardest hit cities, to Ford and General Motors making ventilators for General Electric. This is who we, as Americans, are in the face of adversity. While we are scared and facing an...
$3.3 Million of Good News
Could you use some good news? We have some good news. Actually, we have some GREAT news! Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research just awarded $3.3 million in childhood cancer research grants. This is our largest single-year commitment and brings Rally Foundation’s awarded total to $20 million to find better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, cures. Thank you to our supporters who made these grants possible. Thank you to the Rally Medical Advisory Board who vetted close to 125 full applications. Thank you to our partners in the Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program (The Truth 365, Open Hands Overflowing Hearts, Infinite Love for Kids Fighting Cancer, Luke Tatsu Johnson Foundation, Batcole Foundation, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and CureSearch for Children’s Cancer) who are like-minded foundations working together to co-fund projects...
What Keeps Me Up At Night
Working for Rally is such a blessing, and such a challenge. It’s a blessing to get to know these families who are fighting the childhood cancer beast. They are in a war, involving battle after battle, and sometimes they take one step forward then it seems like five steps back. But, they forge ahead, fighting through tears and finding joy in the simplest pleasures. And it is such a blessing that these families stand behind Rally’s mission to find better treatments and, ultimately, cures for...
How Rally’s Grant Helped Rally Researcher Dr. Michael Kinnaman: Part 2
Rally Researcher, Medical Advisory Board member and pediatric oncologist Dr. Michael Kinnaman is the recipient of Rally’s Postdoctoral and Clinical Research Fellow Grant and most recently was awarded a 2020 Young Investigator Grant. In part two of this two-part series, Dr. Kinnaman reveals how our grant has helped fund his research project on characterizing osteosarcoma tumor cells that are resistant to our current therapy with the end goal of discovering new treatment strategies that are...
The CARES Act: Great News for Taxpayers and Charitable Donations
Our world has been turned upside down in 2020. The spread of COVID-19 has brought about feelings of fear, worry and uncertainty throughout the world—especially in those who are immunocompromised, like our precious Rally Kids. These children and their parents already know what it’s like to live in fear of getting sick. Sanitizing every surface, homeschooling, wearing gloves and masks in public, and next-level hand-washing are just a handful of the precautions these kids take on a regular basis....
Why I Chose Pediatric Oncology and Research
Rally Researcher and pediatric oncologist Dr. Michael Kinnaman received a Rally Postdoctoral and Clinical Research Fellow Grant. In part one of this two-part series, Dr. Kinnaman shares his story and why he was drawn to pediatric oncology and research. Have you ever wondered about the career path of a pediatric oncologist and clinical researcher? Dr. Kinnaman's journey began with a decision made during his sophomore year in college. Having dual passions for law and science, Dr. Kinnaman...
World Health Day
Today is World Health Day and this year it takes on a whole new meaning. It’s hard to believe the entire world has basically been self-quarantining, social distancing and on high alert because of COVID-19. Here in the U.S. we are bracing ourselves for a tough few weeks as cases and deaths are expected to increase. But you know what else has increased? The American spirit. We are all jumping in to help where we can: from those at home making face masks and getting food for immunocompromised...
$3.3 Million of Good News
Could you use some good news? We have some good news. Actually, we have some GREAT news! Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research just awarded $3.3 million in childhood cancer research grants. This is our largest single-year commitment and brings Rally Foundation’s awarded total to $20 million to find better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, cures. Thank you to our supporters who made these grants possible. Thank you to the Rally Medical Advisory Board who...