MADERA, Calif. – A $25,000 grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will help Valley Children’s bring more lifesaving pediatric cancer clinical trials to kids in the Central Valley.
The funding, which was awarded to Valley Children’s Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist Dr. Ruetima Titapiwatanakun, aims to improve access and advance research for some of the region’s most vulnerable patients.
“I am grateful for this grant, which expands Valley Children’s clinical research assistant infrastructure, supports equitable access to pediatric clinical research and advances evidence-based care,” said Dr. Titapiwatanakun.
As one of the leading pediatric cancer facilities on the West Coast, Valley Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is the only provider of pediatric oncology services between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
“With this support, we can offer more children therapeutic and non-therapeutic trials while sustaining enrollment levels that place us in the 80th and 90th percentiles among Children’s Oncology Group institutions nationwide,” said Dr. Titapiwatanakun.
The center ranks in the top 5% to 8% internationally for patient enrollment in the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood cancer research. The group treats conditions ranging from the most common to some of the rarest pediatric cancers.
Founded in 1999, St. Baldrick’s is the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants in the United States. Driven by thousands of volunteers and donors, the nonprofit raises money to support the most promising childhood cancer research.
“We are incredibly grateful to all of our supporters whose generosity and support makes these grants possible,” says Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of St. Baldrick’s Foundation. “Each of these infrastructure grants fund promising clinical trials that turn discoveries into real treatments, giving children safer, more effective options and hope for the future.”
To learn more about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, click here.
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