Fundraiser to benefit Pediatric Cancer Research

Tampa, Fla - St. Joseph's Children’s Hospital is holding a fundraiser this weekend for pediatric cancer research. The money raised will help fund a long term cancer care clinic - to help treat kids and teens with problems that arise from cancer treatment.

David Roth is a local teen who beat bone cancer and puts a face on why this type of clinic is so important.

“Cancer was not a fun experience in my life. I was very young and I barely had any idea what was going on," he said.

Now Roth is an advocate. He wants to raise money to cure cancer.
Diagnosed at nine, bone cancer almost killed him.

“Throughout those years, I had over 20 types of chemotherapy."

Doctor Cameron Tebbi treated him. “He had sarcoma, cancer of the bone. This is a highly malignant tumor. It means it’s an aggressive cancer. He had chemotherapy, surgery and more chemotherapy," Dr.Tebbi said. 

Now sixteen and seven year’s cancer free, David has gone to the internet and to TV to spread the word. His latest cause, raising money for a long term cancer clinic at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. It’s a clinic that is helping him all these years later.

Dr. Tebbi says, “We care for the patient in follow up. We also look to see if there's any residual effect of cancer and we try to solve the problems psychologically or medically of these children."

Despite having only one bone in his left leg, David is now a black belt in karate but he knows even these skills may not keep secondary cancer at bay. That's common in kids who survive childhood cancer Dr. Tebbi says. As part of his clinic he looks out for new or reoccurring cancer. He's also collecting medical data that might show trends or help other patients down the line.

Roth says, “Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S.. and it’s not something you can understand or have power over until you've been there. And even then its not an easy opponent to beat."

But that's what Tebbi and his researchers are trying to do. Through lab research long term goal is to put them out of business - and find a cure for cancer.

If you’d like to attend a fundraiser for Pediatric Cancer Research here’s information on an event this weekend:

“Uncork the Cure” Wine tasting event
Tampa Club
Sunday June 13th 4 to 7 pm
All proceeds will benefit the Children’s Cancer Research Group
813-872-0979
www.sjhfoundation.org