Nina Rose Valdiserri is a survivor who beat the very grim odds of a DIPG diagnosis. When Nina was diagnosed with DIPG, an inoperable and highly aggressive brain stem tumor at the age of 2, doctors told her parents that she would not make it to her third birthday. That was 14 years ago. Today, Nina is a beautiful 17-year-old, who is one of the very few people to survive this horrific brain cancer. 

But survival has come at a cost. Nina is not the child she was prior to diagnosis. She bravely completed her three year treatment in 2009, but 11 years later she is still battling side effects caused by the protocol. Everyday there is a struggle. She has many health-related issues, severe cognitive delays, and emotional impairments. Nina is now also at high risk of secondary cancer. While she has many setbacks in life, Nina is determined to beat them and be a normal teenager.

Nina wants every person fighting DIPG to win their battle like she did but the only way to make her wish come true is through funding for pediatric brain cancer research. Funding is the key to finding the cure and better treatment options with less long-term side effects.

Hope is out there and miracles DO happen. Nina is living proof.

1 in 330 children in the U.S. will develop cancer by age 20.

On the average, 15,500 children are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Cancer is the #1 killer of children by disease in the United States, yet it remains one of the most underfunded diseases in the world.

The Cure Starts Now focuses on the Homerun Cure™ to all cancers by concentrating our research funding efforts on the deadliest forms of cancer. With over $15 million in pediatric brain cancer research funding to date, you can rest assured that 100% of your donation, after credit card processing, will go directly to innovative research. Please join us in funding crucial research to save our youngest of warriors.