A new partnership will bolster efforts to battle childhood cancer in Oklahoma.
The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is part of a $2.2 million upfront investment to support three new researchers, expanded clinical trials and a research fund for pediatric cancer at OU’s Stephenson Cancer Center.
OU Pediatric Oncology Chair Dr. William Meyer said TSET is also allocating up to $1 million a year from an existing grant to the hospital to increase treatment access for kids.
"Support for expanding our children's oncology group efforts will provide access to these cutting-edge clinical studies for all of Oklahoma's children with cancer," Meyer said.
The Stephenson Cancer Center has applied for National Cancer Institute designation and is making pediatric cancer research a key focus.
"This designation, then, will also enhance our ability to recruit and retain the best scientists and clinical investigators dedicated to pediatric cancer," Meyer said. "Ultimately, the winners are the children and adolescents afflicted with cancer."
Vanessa Hart’s 7-year-old son, Brock, was lucky to survive his battle with leukemia with help from Stephenson doctors.
"Children are not just tiny adults. They get different kinds of cancer that require different types of treatment," Hart said. "Research that is geared specifically toward pediatric cancers is crucial in moving the needle forward toward a cure."
