Help and Hope Happen Here Mark Levine

Katie Histing was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma as a 17 year old during the Christmas season of 2018. Katie has battled with this form of Pediatric Cancer for 5 1/2 years  and had what was hoped to be her final Chemotherapy treatment 7 months ago, just after her Stem Cell transplant. Through all of her difficult times, Katie is doing what she can to give back to others through her Katie's Collective business which features her beautiful artwork. Yesterday May 1st was Katie's 23rd birthday. In the cruelest twist, Katie found out the heartbreaking news that a recent blood test confirmed that her cancer was back and that there are no curative options for her at this point. Katie deserves all of the prayers and support we can give to her and one way that we could honor Katie and her fight is to consider purchasing a shirt or donating to her shirt fundraiser. The link to that is https://www.customink.com/fundraising/hibiscus-of-hope.

You can also purchase Katie's art products at https://katiescollectiveus.etsy.com

N'Jhari Jackson had 2 polyps removed from his vocal chords when he was 5 years old and has struggled mightily with physical and mental issues for the last decade and a half. Now a University of Florida graduate, N'Jhari will detail his life which has been dedicated to giving back to others in need, and , despite struggling with the aforementioned issues, has accomplished a great deal and won many awards in his still very young life. One of his many accomplishments has been being a member of Dick Vitale's All Courageous Team in which N'Jhari was highlighted in Dick's book UNTIL MY LAST BREATH : FIGHTING CANCER WITH MY YOUNG HEROES.  All of the proceeds from this book will benefit the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at the V Foundation for Cancer Research. 

Maurice Ahern and his family were living in China in 2010 when his 1 year old son Micah was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. Maurice will talk about quickly moving his family to Orlando to have Micah's surgery and his 6 year ordeal fighting this disease which ended with his passing in July of 2016. Maurice will also talk about his love for the Food Industry and for Baking, which he has used for the past 7 years to help honor the memory of Micah and keep his legacy alive. 

Hearing loss is a very well known side effect and long term effect that survivors of Pediatric Cancer must be aware of, especially if they are being treated with Cisplatin during Chemotherapy, which is a very effective medicine in helping to save lives of these children and adolescents . Holly Reames and Eric Meyer, who work at Fennec Pharmaceuticals will talk about the ramifications of this hearing loss, which if it happens, is always permanent. 

For the past 3 years Mariah Forster Olson and Mary Beth Collins have been working on a Toolkit to help Pediatric Cancer survivors and their families try and navigate through the period when they have gone past the 5 year mark since their cancer diagnosis, but have many issues to conquer both physically and mentally because of what they went through during their cancer experiences. This toolkit is now available and has already helped many patients and their families who have entered the Survivorship phase. 

Mariah and Mary Beth are both members of the very important and successful Non-Profit known as the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer or CAC2.

Tabitha Odom thought that her 2 year old daughter Sailor might have the flu when she brought her to a Walk In Clinic in November of 2022 as she had not been feeling well. Later that night Tabitha became worried when she received a phone call at 9:00 PM and said that Sailor needed  to go to a hospital emergency room. After that she was sent to  UTMB Hospital in Galveston Texas where Tabitha was told that Sailor had B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Tabitha will talk about Sailor's successful treatment protocol in which she is expected to complete her maintenance program in January of 2025.