Since our establishment in 2014, Pat Mac’s Pack has donated more than $1,000,000 to our dual mission of supporting brain tumor research at Lurie Children’s Hospital and providing financial assistance to young cancer patients and families.
Recently, we have:
In 2020, we donated $110,000 to the Brain Tumor Research Fund at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and provided nearly $70,000 to families with children battling cancer.
In 2019, we donated $200,000 to the Brain Tumor Research Fund at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and provided over $100,000 to families with children battling cancer.
Research
Our donations to Lurie Children’s Hospital help fund the cutting-edge research currently being conducted at Lurie’s by the entire brain tumor research team. This has included providing funding to purchase state of the art technology like the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), supporting fellowship research and more.
“At Lurie Children’s, we continue to push the boundaries in advanced care and research for pediatric brain tumor patients thanks to generous philanthropy,” said Dr. Steward Goldman, MD, Division Head of Hematology, Oncology, Neuro-Oncology and Stem Cell at Lurie Children’s Hospital. “Support from Pat Mac’s Pack will allow us to invest in promising research initiatives. Their support of state of the art technology like the CRISPR for Dr. Becher’s lab and clinical research will give us the springboard to significantly ramp up our efforts and make the quantum leaps forward that will make a difference in the treatment of pediatric brain tumors. We thank Pat Mac’s Pack for partnering with us to bring viable solutions to children with cancer and their families.”
Family Support and Testimonials
When you find out your child has cancer, life as you know it stops. Treating and hopefully curing your child becomes your sole focus. Jobs and bills take a back seat but never go away. Plus, a battle with cancer comes with myriad financial costs — above and beyond hospital and medical bills. We provide modest financial support to families to help reduce the burden of travel, parking, lodging and other costs associated with numerous visits to and stays in the hospital. Please note: some the names of the children below have been changed to protect their privacy.
LD is a handsome 12 year old hero battling a Gliomatosis Cerebri. He is a well rounded guy who loves Harry Potter, Marvel super hero movies, dogs, mac & cheese, fidget spinners, wrestling and stuffed animals just to name a few things. He enjoys building and creating household items with his grandpa.
Arthur is a vivacious 8 year old fighting a DIPG, the most aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer. He loves super heroes and playing with his brothers. His mom is single and depends on family and friends to help her.
Lisa is almost 2 years old. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor on her optic nerve. As a result of her diagnosis and treatment she is now blind. She will require several more years of chemotherapy along with services to help her adjust to life as a blind child. Her parents were very grateful for our donation which helped cover expenses not covered by their insurance.
Amanda is also 8, the eldest of 4 children. She was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma multiform, a very deadly form of brain cancer. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. Her mom stays home while her dad works. They live in a very modest home with very few extras. They were extremely grateful for our donation.
Billy is a toddler with neuroblastoma. He is currently undergoing treatment. He is the baby of a large family. His siblings all attend Catholic school and mom stays home.
Daniel is 16 years old, the 4th of 5 children. He is in treatment for a meduloblastoma, and his current MRI is “going in the right direction”. He hopes to be back playing on the soccer field next year. His parents are immigrants who speak very little English and have low paying jobs. The family needed car repairs which they couldn’t afford on top of all the medical bills. When his dad found out about our donation, he cried.
Rachel is an 11 year old diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. As part of this disease, Rachel has an inoperable brain tumor. She lives with her single mom and sister in an apartment. They recently lost their home and car. Our donation was greatly appreciated.