A Note From Our Founder
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Hello and welcome to the Olivia Caldwell Foundation website! We are glad you are here and beyond grateful for your support!
Olivia's dad, Brett, and I founded The Olivia Caldwell Foundation in November 2013, just one month after our daughter, Olivia, passed away from brain cancer at 20 months old. Since then, your support has enabled us to give $325,000 to pediatric cancer research teams at Children's Hospital Colorado and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The projects we've funded have already yielded some truly amazing results that will change the way pediatric cancer is treated. Our team at Children's Colorado discovered that a genetic mutation, FGFR1, causes the immune system to turn off and ignore the cancer. This mutation has led to countless unexpected deaths from pediatric cancer, including the death of our namesake, Olivia. The team used this information to develop a simple blood test that can be done at diagnosis in conjunction with a tumor biopsy. This blood test is able to identify the driving genetic mutation behind the cancer's growth, which then creates a reference guide for the best treatment regiment based upon that child's specific type of cancer and genetic makeup. This discovery allows for personalized cancer treatment, which will dramatically change the way cancer is treated in Wyoming, Colorado and throughout the rest of the world. The team was also able to develop several new types of oral chemo, which are showing incredibly promising results. These treatments will be going to clinical trials in the spring, and if approved, will be the first new pediatric brain tumor treatments to become FDA approved since the 1980's. Your support is changing the future of pediatric cancer treatment! Every single dollar makes a difference Thank You! Katie Caldwell-Burchett, Founder/CEO |
Founder, Katie Caldwell-Burchett and her daughter, Olivia, in May 2013
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