BERLIN — Amy Wood of West Ocean City traveled to the nation’s capital last week with the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) to advocate for legislation to fund brain tumor research.
May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month and survivors, caregivers and family members affected from loss of a loved one from brain cancer shared their stories with legislators as part of the NBTS yearly Head to the Hill initiative. Wood is mother to Alex, a 6-year-old brain tumor survivor and kindergartner at Ocean City Elementary School. This is her first year participating in this effort.
Wood met with Maryland Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Representative Andy Harris of Maryland’s 1st District to discuss the Childhood Cancer Star Act of 2017. If passed, the STAR Act would help stimulate more effective pediatric brain tumor research and lead to better treatments that would extend life and improve patients’ quality of life.
“Alex is two years tumor-free, yet we deal with the effects of the tumor daily,” says Wood. “This is our chance to tell his story in the hopes that it will help another child and family that will face a similar battle.”
Last year, brain tumors ranked above leukemia as the leading cause of cancer death among children ages 0-19. According to the NBTS, as many as two-thirds of the childhood cancer survivors suffer from late effects of their disease or treatment including secondary cancers and organ damage. The STAR Act would enhance research on those late effects of childhood cancers, improve collaboration among providers and establish a new pilot program to begin to explore innovative models of care for childhood cancer survivors.
The Wood family, Shawn, Amy and Alex, incorporated the Raymond A. Wood Foundation (www.rawoodfoundation.org) in late 2016 specifically to provide quality of life support to pediatric brain tumor survivors.
“We have seen the challenges that these young survivors face after treatment and there is so much work to be done to help them thrive,” said Wood. “Going to the Hill today was an amazing experience and I feel optimistic that there is hope in the future of pediatric brain tumor treatment and outcomes.”