On May 7th, 2022, we received life changing news that Gavin had leukemia. He was admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital and within two days had a bone marrow biopsy, lumbar puncture and his first dose of chemotherapy. In a matter of weeks our sweet, healthy, sports loving boy’s world had turned upside down.

After Gavin's bone marrow biopsy was analyzed, he was diagnosed with Philadelphia Positive Chromosome Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Ph+ ALL). Only 3-5% of children diagnosed with ALL have this type of chromosome rearrangement. The research being done at Dana Farber (and beyond) is critical for rare diagnoses like Gavin's.

While we believe all research is important in the fight against cancer, we feel strongly that the money we raise with Team Gavin be designated for pediatric cancer research. Since Gavin was diagnosed, we have learned that pediatric cancer research is significantly underfunded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The primary reason is because pediatric cancer is considered rare as more adults than kids are diagnosed with cancer. However, pediatric cancer is not rare when it happens to your child or a child you know.

All funds raised through my PMC will support Dana-Farber’s Department of Pediatric Oncology to promote basic laboratory research, translational investigation, and clinical studies to better understand and treat childhood cancers.