Through our Rainbow of Hope Program, Maddi’s Closet supports efforts to improve the quality of life for children suffering with cancer.

In 1991, Dr. Jonathan Finlay, Clinical Director, Neural Tumors Program, Children’s Center for Cancer & Blood Diseases, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, developed one of the highest profile treatment protocols for yourng children:

Saving Lives, Saving Neurons: The Head Start Treatment Program for Young Children with Malignant Brain Tumors

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Institutions around the world participate in this program, including 40 institutions from throughout the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Argentina. Many other centers have adopted or adapted treatments based on the Head Start regimen. Their shared goal is to improve survival rates, minimize the damaging effects of treatment on the intellectual development, and sustain the quality of life of these little patients.

To this date, they have participated without any financial support. However the cost of participating in such studies is increasing year by year, due to dramatic increase in federal and institutional regulatory requirements; as well as increased costs of data management and clinical research support.

Each year thirty-five patients are enrolled in the program. In three years there would be 125 patients being followed for many years to assess both cure rate and late effects of treatment and quality of life. The cost for each patient covers the entire period of time that the patient is treated and followed, to hopefully cure and beyond! The cost for all thirty-five patients to participate each year is $70,000.