Lauren Hill exceeds fundraising goal, enables more collaborative research

Lauren Hill met and exceeded her fundraising goal of $1 million for The Cure Starts Now Foundation by raising nearly $1.3 million for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) research.
 
“Lauren has truly captured the nation’s heart with her dedication and persistence in the face of adversity,” says Brooke Desserich, executive director of The Cure Starts Now. “The fact that she has decided to spend her precious few months left on this earth to make sure that no other children face the same fate is incredible.”
 
With DIPG, which makes up 10-15 percent of all brain tumors in children, comes a grim outlook.
 
According to Desserich, fewer than 10 percent of children with DIPG survive two years from diagnosis, and, unlike other pediatric cancers, little progress has occurred in improving treatments and cure rates throughout the past few decades.
 
“Currently, The Cure Starts Now has been responsible for funding over $2.8 million in (DIPG) research,” Desserich says. “Much of this research is cutting-edge research that isn’t being funded.”
 
And it’s all going toward doctors who, Desserich says, “have the heart to leave their egos at the door” and share their findings with others. 
 
“(They) share their data and outcomes and set forth to work with other institutions not because it will further their career but because it furthers the odds of survival for these kids and finding a cure,” Desserich says. “At the end of the day, the tools and gadgets will only supplement what truly advances science — and that is heart. Our funding is not exclusive to the latest strategy, hospital or researcher. Instead, it's about these children and about the cure.”

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