About Press On

Press On was formed by Erin and Stephen Chance after
their three year-old son, Patrick, was diagnosed with stage
IV neuroblastoma in June 2006.   After his original
diagnosis, Patrick endured three years of therapy,
including multiple surgeries, ten rounds of chemotherapy,
the last of which was so strong he required an autologous
stem cell transplant to survive, twelve rounds of radiation,
nine months of oral chemotherapy, and two years of painf
monoclonal antibody therapy.  Despite this intense
treatment, Patrick relapsed a mere two months after
completing therapy. His cure now depends upon the
success of cutting-edge investigational agents like those
supported by Press On.
In 2009, Press On’s mission grew to include a focus on
acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when their dear friends
Tara and Turner Simkins joined forces with Press On as
a result of their son Brennan’s diagnosis with AML on the
eve of his seventh birthday.   Brennan received three
chemotherapy cycles and an allogenic bone marrow
transplant to achieve remission last summer.  After four
short months, Brennan relapsed and is now fighting with
Patrick to find a cure with far fewer and riskier options
available for both of these amazing boys.
Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of
American children, killing more children than asthma,
AIDS, muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis combined.
The often-quoted cure rate for pediatric cancer is skewed
by tremendous success in treating acute lymphoblastic
leukemia, but the cure rates for stage IV neuroblastoma an
AML are much lower. In fact, over 25% of children
diagnosed with any type of cancer will die within five years
and the overall cure rate for pediatric cancer has not
improved in over a decade.  This is simply unacceptable.
Press On’s goal is to achieve a greater cure rate for these
cruel diseases while mitigating the potentially devastating
side effects of current therapy, which can include
secondary cancers, developmental delays, hearing loss,
infertility, scoliosis, and others.   To accomplish this goal,
Press On provides grants to scientists conducting research
into novel, targeted therapies for neuroblastoma and AML
Please join us in the fight against childhood cancer.