Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Foundation Funds the First Long-Term Study of Pediatric Cancer Patients

Bethesda, MD -- On the 10th anniversary of The Jeff Gordon Foundation, four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jeff Gordon announced that his Foundation has awarded $190,000 to complete the funding to conduct a long term follow-up study of pediatric cancer patients through CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation and the Children's Oncology Group. The funding was part of a larger commitment by The Jeff Gordon Foundation to support pediatric cancer treatment and research.

"We are excited to be celebrating our 10-year anniversary, 'A Decade of Caring', and I'm really happy to announce that it's been a great 2009 for us because of the tremendous support from our fans and the community within our sport," said Gordon. "We announced to key supporters that the Foundation is committing $2.5 million to support pediatric research, treatment and programs at the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital."

This new multi-disciplinary research effort will enable the Children's Oncology Group pediatric oncologists and member institutions to continue active follow-up of their patients long-term. Changes in therapies and increased numbers of long-term survivors mandate the need for ongoing studies that focus on outcomes research and quality of life and are not limited to a simple analysis of cure. This new collaboration joins expertise from a non-oncology field with the Children's Oncology Group and thereby expands the pool of talented scientists working in cancer research areas and carry out joint research that would not be possible to be conducted expeditiously in the absence of these collaborators and this additional funding support.

"This is a milestone for CureSearch and the Children's Oncology Group in creating a new partnership between The Jeff Gordon Foundation and CureSearch," said Stacy Pagos Haller, Executive Director, CureSearch who participated in the anniversary celebration in Charlotte. "We look forward to working together to reach the day when every child with cancer is guaranteed a cure."

In addition to supporting the COG study, additional programs that the Foundation is funding include the building of a pediatric pulmonary lab and community outreach program at the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital, the establishment of The Jeff Gordon Foundation Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis (both COG member institutions), and funds to tissue-type 30,000 marrow donors through the Be The Match Registry of the National Marrow Donors Program.

Until now, advances in childhood cancer have been dramatic—40 years ago, cure rates for most childhood cancers were lower than ten percent; today, 78 percent of childhood cancer patients overall are said to be cured. While there have been remarkable breakthroughs in treatments and improvement in survival rates, one out of five children continues to die and cancer remains the #1 disease killer of children. For the 40,000 children living with cancer and the 12,500 diagnosed each year, years of flat funding for childhood cancer research puts children at tremendous risk.

"The cost of research is real and only research has been responsible for the improvement in outcomes for children with cancer. We are grateful to The Jeff Gordon Foundation for their support," said Gregory H. Reaman, M.D., Chairman of the Children's Oncology Group. "Each day that pediatric cancer research goes under funded, the challenge to discovering new treatments and cures becomes more difficult and the lives of children are unfairly jeopardized."

For more information about CureSearch, log onto www.curesearch.org.

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About CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation

Through fundraising, advocacy and education, CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation exclusively supports the work of the Children's Oncology Group (COG), the world's largest cooperative cancer research organization that treats approximately 90 percent of all children with cancer at more than 200 leading children's and university hospitals and Cancer Centers in the U.S. Together, we are the leading nonprofit organization committed to conquering childhood cancer through discovery and compassionate care. For more information, visit: www.curesearch.org.

About The Jeff Gordon Foundation

The Jeff Gordon Foundation was established as a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization in 1999 by the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. The Foundation supports children battling pediatric cancer by funding programs that improve patients' quality of life, treatment programs that increase survivorship and pediatric medical research dedicated to finding a cure.

The Foundation also supports the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital in Concord, NC, which serves children in the community by providing a high level of primary and specialty pediatric care. We are proud to support a quality healthcare facility dedicated to compassionate care and medical excellence for children.

For more information about this year's TEN Match campaign and The Jeff Gordon Foundation visit www.jeffgordonfoundation.org.