Addie is the most giving, kind-hearted, animal-loving child. She loves singing and dancing. She is always thinking of others and finding ways to make people smile, laugh, and feel loved. She enjoys making the most creative art projects and giving them to her brother and mom.

Prior to being diagnosed with DIPG, a fast-growing and highly aggressive form of brain cancer, Addie began suffering from severe headaches and bouts of vomiting, followed by double vision and difficulty walking. After two long weeks, filled with ER visits, countless daily phone calls to her doctor, and a desperate plea from Addie’s mom to get her scanned, she was finally given an MRI, which revealed the tumor.

After diagnosis, it was devastating and heartbreaking for Addie’s family to watch her change into a different child, regressing back to a toddler at times with her behavior and motor skills. She required diapers. She needed assistance with everything from bathing to using the bathroom to eating. She required someone to be with her at all times because of her risk of seizures and falling. Before radiation, she was unable to sit up for long periods of time so she was either in a wheelchair or laying down. It was gut-wrenching to see Addie go from a healthy and active 8-year-old child to basically being incapacitated overnight. 

Before diagnosis, Addie played on the basketball team for her school and took gymnastics classes twice a week. She had to stop these activities after she got sick because her balance was affected. She was also no longer able to do her favorite activity, art, due to the loss of her fine motor skills. Post-radiation and with physical therapy, she's worked very hard to get most of her art skills back and is walking unassisted for now.  She is a fighter and my mom’s little superhero.   

Funding research means the world to Addie and her family because it means one day there will be a cure for DIPG so that no other child and their parents have to go through the hell of knowing that no matter what you do, your child is going to die too soon. This is such an unimaginable, unfair disease. 

Did you know that the moon is 238,900 miles away from the Earth?

We want to turn those miles into donations! 
Every $1 equals 1 mile closer to our goal, and 100% of your donations after credit card processing fees go directly to funding pediatric brain cancer research. Cancer doesn't take a break and neither do we. There is still vital research that needs to be funded this year. 

Want to see how we're doing overall? Click here!

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

On 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 for all cancers by concentrating our research funding efforts on one of the deadliest forms of cancer, DIPG. With over $16.4 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 warriors.