Some specific ways YOU can help have been placed below:

Contact the following pharmaceutical companies who produce methotrexate and ask them to:

* PRIORITIZE THE PRODUCTION OF THE PRESERVATIVE-FREE FORM OF METHOTREXATE.
* CONSIDER WORKING WITH THE FDA TO IMPORT PRESERVATIVE-FREE METHOTREXATE.

APP Customer Service – 1-888-386-1300
Hospira, Inc. Customer Service – 1-877-946-7747
Mylan Institutional – 1-888-258-4199
Sandoz Customer Service – 1-609-627-8500

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS on Capitol Hill and ask them to immediately send a letter to these same pharmaceutical companies requesting that they:

* Prioritize the production of the preservative-free form of methotrexate.
* Consider working with the FDA to import preservative-free methotrexate if sources are available.

The wonderful organization CureSearch for Children’s Cancer has set up a easy template for supporters to send a letter to their representative. Please CLICK HERE and send a letter to your representative.

Thank you for your concern and actively helping in the fight against childhood cancer.

Give a gift this Valentine’s Day that gives back! Check out the cookies from Cookies for Kids’ Cancer where 100% of the profits from cookie sales goes toward pediatric cancer research.

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer

www.cookiesforkidscancer.org

Host a Bake Sale. Order Cookies.

Be a Good Cookie!

New York Islanders game over the weekend.

For the next month every person who donates $30.00 will receive a ticket to the game. Donate $60.00 and receive 2 tickets or donate $90.00 and receive 3 tickets and so on.

We hope you will join us in the fight against pediatric cancer and a fun filled night of hockey.

Click Here to Donate or email info@4loveproject.org for more info.

New York Islanders Charity of the Game

For info on the Winter Run Series Click Here

Team 4Love is a charity sports training program that will participate in other organizations’ endurance activities and health and fitness events to promote awareness of pediatric cancer. 4Love Project’s official colors are pink and blue symbolizing the girls and boys affected by pediatric cancer.

If you are interested in participating in an event with Team 4Love or starting your own Team 4Love please contact info@4loveproject.org.

Below are pictures of Team 4Love during 2011

2011 Kids Walk for Kids With Cancer Central Park NYC

Team 4Love Walking in Central Park in NYC (Kids Walk)

Running 4Love at Yankee Stadium

Team 4Love Race for Hope 2011 in Washington DC

Racing 4Love at the Race for Hope in Washington DC

Alex's Lemonade Lemon Run Nov. 13 2011 in Phili

Although Jana is gone she will be our star forever. This is why we do it 4Love!

Below are some pictures of Jana. If you can not tell Jana loved animals.

Below Jana and her pug Lulu.

Below Jana and Sean

Once again the Huntington community rallied together and came out to support, participate, and volunteer in the Walk 4Love.  The 5k course is a scenic route that runs along the water and through the neighborhood streets.  The run has volunteers throughout, many of whom were Jana’s friends and loved ones, cheering on all of the runners and walkers.  In addition to the 5k there was also face painting, an award ceremony for the male and female winners in the race, and a raffle and silent auction with some great items.

Prior to the day’s events, the Walk 4Love was kicked off by a flash mob who encouraged anyone who felt like dancing to jump in and join the fun! Click Here for a video of the flash mob.

With over 700 people and great weather, this year’s Walk 4Love was truly an amazing event with an equally important cause. All of the money raised from the Walk 4Love is donated by 4Love Project to specific pediatric cancer research initiatives.  A BIG thank you goes out to all of the sponsors and volunteers because without them the Walk 4Love would not be possible.

Why do you walk?

For whatever reason you walk join us this Saturday at the Jana Piccola Walk 4Love. You can also read Jana’s story below.

Click Here to Register or Click Here to Donate

Jana’s Letter

It was in mid May of 2003, the day of junior prom. While most girls were worrying about make-up and their prom dress, I had larger issues at hand. I received a phone call that no sixteen year old should receive; I had cancer. My summer was spent in and out of the hospital, getting chemotherapy and radiation treatments for soft tissue sarcoma. I had the love and support from family, friends, and my boyfriend Sean, so I was able to focus and stay positive. It may sound odd, but I was lucky to be 16 and 5’7″ when I received the intense treatments. Children who have not gone through their growth spurt often never reach their full height.

I became more educated about the effects of treatments during my second battle with cancer. This time around I was diagnosed with AML, a type of leukemia that was the result of my treatments from 5 years prior. I am 21 years old and tired of seeing so many suffer from cancer, especially children. More research and funding needs to be placed on pediatric cancer. So that every child can be a child.

What I missed most was living my athletic lifestyle. My winter came and went with no skiing and summer breezed on by with no wakeboarding. Sean sacrificed his love for the outdoors as he took on the responsibility as my caregiver.

One day, we decided to start an organization that would embrace our passions and help end pediatric cancer. 4Love was born. Find what your love represents.

Love,
Jana

Since then Jana has passed on and our goal has not changed. Support our organization and do something good for the youth.

Click here to see!

After our first year of fundraising, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center honored our contribution by dedicating a plaque in their lobby to our co-founder Jana Piccola.

We also recently received a Citation of Merit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for supporting programs
for patient care, education, and research. Dr. O’Reilly, who was one of Jana’s doctors and is also in charge of one of
the research initiatives 4Love supported, presented 4Love Project with this award which was truly unexpected and amazing. About a month before this event, we took a tour of the research facilities at Sloan where we were able to learn about all the different initiatives that take place at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

4Love Project is focused on seeking out the best patient care, education, and research initiatives at different facilities and hospitals. At the bottom of this post are a few of the initiatives 4Love Project has supported in the past.

To get involved this Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month you can click to donate below or click to register and wrap up the month of September by walking/running to help in the fight against pediatric cancer.

Click Here to Register or Click Here to Donate

Pediatric Immunotherapy Clinical Trials

The laboratory of Dr. Richard O’Reilly, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Chief of the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Service, recently identified a number of protein fragments, or peptides, that have shown promise in the treatment of certain solid tumors and leukemias. The laboratory is currently focused on one
protein, known as the Wilms’ Tumor Protein (WT-1) that is present at high levels in some patients with acute leukemias, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndromes. Using genetically engineered cells known as T-lymphocytes that have been immunized against the WT-1 protein, the laboratory has been successful at destroying malignant cells in immunodeficient (leukemic) mice.  The lab hypothesized that these T-lymphocytes may similarly eliminate the malignant cells capable of forming tumors in humans, and has recently begun a Phase I-trial to evaluate WT-1 immune T-lymphocytes for the treatment of patients who relapse following a bone marrow transplant. Small numbers of these engineered T-cells were infused into the patients and, remarkably, they were able to rapidly expand in the recipients and successfully destroy the cancer. Further, patients remained disease-free of
lymphoma indefinitely as these T-cells became a permanent part of the immune system.

Dr. O’Reilly and his team are now interested in expanding this model to target other types of cancer.  To do this, they must identify the unique antigens needed to activate the immune system in each specific cancer, and then engineer T-cells to specifically recognize these antigens. They have already demonstrated that the WT1 antigen  is strongly expressed on a large number of pediatric sarcomas. However, before testing this type of novel agent in children, investigators prefer to begin trials in adults to determine safety and efficacy. Fortunately, the WT1 antigen is also strongly  expressed in ovarian cancer in adults and Dr. O’Reilly and his colleagues have begun trials of T-cells engineered to recognize the WT1 antigen as therapy for adult women with ovarian cancer. To date, these trials have shown very promising results, suggesting that targeting the WT1 antigen is an effective means of halting cancer growth. Research is now focusing on engineering T-cells that will recognize the WT1 antigen as a therapy for pediatric sarcoma.

Pediatric Long-Term Follow Up Program

Nearly three-quarters of childhood cancer survivors will develop a chronic health problem within 30 years of diagnosis. In 1990 the Department of Pediatrics established the Long-Term Follow-Up Program
to help children and families navigate this path. The program offers  follow-up medical care to pediatric cancer survivors based on the  patient’s past therapies and age at treatment, then they detail  which tests should be performed and when to monitor for potential  late effects. Late effects can be detected early and easily in most  patients. If a problem is identified, treatment is often available.  Some late effects may include disturbances to the endocrine system  (hormone disturbances) that may cause short stature, disturbances of  puberty, and thyroid or fertility
disorders. Frequently, these  conditions are treated by the Long-Term Follow-Up Program. Other  problems, such as heart and learning difficulties, are closely  monitored by the team and referred to appropriate clinical  specialists when necessary. Our comprehensive post-treatment  care-which seamlessly transitions pediatric patients into the adult  program once they reach their late teens or early twenties- is  unique to Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and we are currently in the  process of disseminating this lifesaving model to our peer  institutions.

Pediatric Free Care Fund (PFCF)

Introduced in 1985, the PCFC assists families that experience difficulty paying their hospital and/or physician bills. The purpose of the program is to make financial assistance available to our most  needy patient families, so that they may focus on their most important role-helping their child successfully undergo cancer treatment. Patient families are referred for Free-Care Fund assistance through several channels: A pediatric financial counselor meets with all
families at the start of a child’s treatment to discuss billing, insurance, and other related issues and may
encourage a family to apply to the Free-Care Fund.  Patients in need of assistance are also identified by social workers serving the pediatric unit or by any unit within Patient Accounts, Patient Financial Services, and the Physicians’ Billing Department.  In a typical year, approximately 100 pediatric families receive assistance from the Fund.
However, the current economic decline has caused a sharp increase in the number of families seeking assistance, and we are expecting a further increase in the upcoming year.