Help and Hope Happen Here

Talia and Logan Tallman's son Escher was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Rhabdomayosarcoma  before his 3rd birthday in 2017. Talia will talk about the book THE SECRET CLUB Inside The World Of A Pediatric Cancer Family that she wrote, which focuses on Escher's cancer battle and the trials and tribulations that Talia and Logan went through as they tried to deal with doctors and oncologists in Florida, Boston, and California during their ordeal. 

Talia will talk in depth about what she and Logan were focused on during this period, beginning with their initial opposition to both chemotherapy and radiation during the early stages of Escher's treatment, and how she eventually was able to change her thought process on the overall protocol that Escher successfully completed in October of 2018. 

Scott Kirian, a cancer survivor himself, will discuss his passion for pediatric cancer patients and their families that he has met over the past several years and the emotional support that he has provided to them. He will also give his thoughts as to what this cause means to him and how he has been welcomed by the families that he has supported. 

Cindi Bonner will talk about the Rally Foundation in Pensacola Florida which was added to the already established Rally Foundations in Atlanta and Nashville, to give another location for pediatric cancer patients and their families to take advantage of the programs and advances that this Foundation has been providing for many years.

Cindi will be joined by Anamarie Mixson, who lost her son Wyatt to a seven month sarcoma battle in February of 2021. Anamarie will talk about how much Rally has meant to her even after Wyatt's passing, and will also talk about Wyatt's experience of being a Rally Kid. 

Shortly after Sophie Ryan was diagnosed with an Optic Pathway Glioma in 2013 when she was 8 1/2 months old, her mother Tracy decided to treat Sophie with cannabis in combination with the traditional treatments such as chemotherapy, as she and her husband Josh searched for ways to help their daughter recover from this form of Pediatric Brain cancer.

Contacted by Talk Show host Ricki Lake, they decided to participate in the movie Weed The People over a 6 year span and this film is still available on Netflix. As the Ryan family found that cannabis had an ingredient that helped to produce natural killer cells to help ward off cancer cells, they and Sophie's doctors saw a rapid improvement in her condition. 

As Sophie approaches her 9th birthday, her killer cells are continuing to produce good results as her cancer cells continue to diminish .

Both Brian Gourley and Dwight Witherspoon had difficulty finding the proper doctors and hospitals for their children, each of whom had been diagnosed with different forms of Leukemia. They will discuss their frustrations during this period and will talk about the solution that Brian and his wife Erin came up with when they started their data based business CUREWHEEL.

This business focuses on organization, simplicity, and structure to help parents who are in a similar position as they were, to have a much easier path in choosing the right situation for their children who have been diagnosed with any form of pediatric cancer. 

Jessica Pajak will discuss her daughter Emma who was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma when she was just 6 weeks old. After her first year of life was filled with chemotherapy treatments, biopsies, blood transfusions and MRI's, Emma is now 4 years old and has shown No Evidence of Disease for the past 3 years. 
Jessica will also talk about the Wine Company ONE HOPE and how its mission of giving a percentage of all its sales to charitable causes gave her the opportunity to give back to children suffering from Pediatric Cancer. 

Gabriella Miller lived less than one year after her diagnosis of DIPG in 2012. During that time, she was able to become a passionate advocate for the cause of Pediatric Cancer, including a memorable statement just 2 weeks before she passed away as she implored Congress to "STOP TALKING AND START DOING" Shortly after that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, helped to push through legislation that he named the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act  that was signed into law by President Obama in 2014.

Her mother Ellyn will talk about Gabriella , and will also discuss her own advocacy work which started with the Gabriella Kids First Research Act and has continued through her recent testimony given on Capital Hill, about the Gabriella Miller First Research Act 2.0. As a major voice on Capitol Hill for this Pediatric Cancer cause , Ellyn's work has produced and is producing major legislation that is making a very positive difference in the lives of kids who need it the most.

After a 31 year career as an executive at IBM , Mark Weiss decided to start a non profit that would bring passion and help others. This non profit, COMIC BOOKS FOR KIDS is now the largest charity for Comic Books in the country. Mark will talk about how he started this non profit in 2017, and the steps that he took to get his organization to where it is today. The bottom line is that it has helped brighten the days of Pediatric Cancer patients in 180 hospitals across the country as they endure their individual cancer treatments. 

Courtney Durante's daughter Lilli was diagnosed with an Optic Pathway Glioma Brain Tumor when she was 4 years old. Lilly decided to wear a different costume to each of her year long chemotherapy sessions . Now 7 years old, Lilly is doing very well health wise. In honor of Lilly, Courtney started the Non Profit COSTUMES FOR COURAGE which provides costumes to pediatric cancer patients in hospitals in the United States and other countries. Because of Covid this non profit did not truly get its start until October of 2020, but has already provided 250 patients in 41 states and 6 countries with costumes that help to make their cancer treatments easier to endure. 

Melissa Scott is the Managing Director of the Charlotte North Carolina branch of the Pediatric Cancer non profit COOL KIDS CAMPAIGN. Melissa will talk about the many different programs it offers to these kids and their families, and will also discuss the contributions from former great athletes and current Board Members Ken Singleton and Dan Jansen, as well as the contribution from all time Olympic star Mike Eruzione.