Help and Hope Happen Here

Lisa and Mac Tichenors' son Willie lost his battle with Osteosarcoma in 2006. On today's podcast Lisa and Mac will talk about Willie, who lived a life which was full of  meaning  before he passed away after his first semester at the University of Texas. They started the Quad W Foundation in his honor, and almost all of the Board Members were comprised of Willie's friends, which shows you how important Willie was to them . Many of the original Board Members remain on the board today.
Lisa and Mac will also talk about the Osteosarcoma Institute which they started in 2015, which focuses on the science involved to try and find a much better path for these kids who are diagnosed with such a difficult form of cancer. 

Christina Myers and Kevin Reardon's daughter Olivia has been through a myriad of serious health issues in her still very young life. Born 10 1/2 weeks prematurely, she had heart surgery when she was a month old, and then after a healthy period that lasted 3 years, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Aveolar Rhabdomayosarcoma.  Olivia just completed her 51st out of 66 Chemotherapy treatments, has returned to school as a 5th grader, and as 2023 goes on, the hope is that she will return to full health and a peaceful life as soon as possible. 
Christina and Kevin will also talk about their Olivia Strong Foundation, which they started in March of 2022 with the hope that it will become an important Regional non-profit to help as many kids and families as possible in the pediatric cancer fight. This non- profit is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Dr. Caitlyn Barrett has her PHD in Cancer Biology from Vanderbilt University plus her post doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.  She has taken her education to concentrate on helping many kids who have some form of Pediatric Cancer. On today's podcast, Dr. Barrett will talk about some of the highlights that she has experienced in her prominent roles at Curesearch For Kids Cancer, the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer, and her current role as an Associate Director of the Milken Institute Center For Strategic Philanthropy. 

After suffering a seizure while walking in New York City, Adrian Conoboy was diagnosed with Brain Cancer. While in the hospital receiving treatment,  he saw many kids who were being treated for Pediatric Cancer.  On today's podcast Adrian and his wife Roz will talk about that period of time which began in 2016 when Adrian was 35 years old and working as a Soccer Coach. Seeing these kids deeply affected Adrian and he and Roz started the Non-Profit WE CAN KICK IT for kids ages 6-18 who have in some way been impacted by cancer. This Non- Profit holds soccer clinics in the New York City area  and already has helped somewhere between 100-150 kids gain confidence and inspiration during their "New Normal".

After falling on her own several times and experiencing pain in her pinkie finger while playing the violin,  Prabal Chakrabarti and Venessa Ruget's  daughter Sajni was diagnosed with DIPG at the age of 7. Sajni tried to lead her best life possible for the next 19 months, as she spoke French fluently, rode horses, did karate, and wrote a letter to the White House about Climate Change. As Venessa put it, Sajni wanted to change the world. Sajni took over 100 trips to Boston Children's Hospital and took 10 trips to England as her parents tried to do whatever they could to help their beloved daughter. Unfortunately the viciousness of DIPG took over and she passed away on July 1st of 2017. 

Karla and Brian Veal became Foster Parents to Greyson 4 days after he was born. 13 months later Greyson was diagnosed with B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and shortly after that, they decided to adopt him. On today's podcast Karla will talk about the journey that Greyson went through , starting with an almost year long remission but unfortunately ending in April of 2021 , as even Cart T Cell Therapy could not hold off the ravages of the cancer that had spread through his body. 
Karla will also talk about the very unique non profit that she and Brian started to honor the far too short life of their beloved Greyson.
Here is the website link to Gold For Grey Ministries which is the name of their Non-Profit.     https://goldforgrey.com/    

Jennifer Lorencovitz is the Senior Director of Programming and Brian Morello is the Co-Founder and Senior Project manager for the Non- Profit FAMILY REACH.  Jennifer and Brian will talk about their Non- Profit, which provides financial assistance and   counseling to families which are faced with a cancer diagnosis. Their Non- Profit has been existence for 26 years , has helped 60,000 families including 14,000 last year, and is now making strides in helping families and individuals that are are considered underserved.

Dr. Mariella Filbin was raised just outside of Vienna Austria, where she completed her academic road to becoming  a Neurooncologist. Thankfully for the Pediatric Brain Cancer Community in Boston, she came directly from Vienna and began her work at Dana Farber and Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Filbin is now one of the leading practitioners in her field and will talk about many issues and topics concerning Pediatric Brain Cancer on today's podcast. 

Sonya Kulkarni is an incredible young woman and already has produced a list of accomplishments that would make anyone twice her age more than proud. A senior at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas, Sonya will talk about her amazing life so far which has including publishing 2 books, working as a Cancer Research Assistant at MD Anderson Hospital, starting a Non Profit to help Texas High School students excel on the Texas Educational Standards Exam, and become an important part of the Pediatric Cancer World through Curefest, which is an annual conference held each September in Washington D.C.  
Sonya has been recognized by Ms. Magazine, the New York Times, and The PBS News Hour for some of the work that she has done. There will be many more accomplishes from Sonya as she moves on with what will be a life full of helping others.