Press Releases
For immediate release
February 22, 2007
Krista Robertson
krobertson@trio-solutions.com
(843) 216-0442 or (843) 224-8089
Local Nonprofit Launches
Nationwide Program for Children with Cancer
Charleston, SC --- ASCEND Foundation, a Charleston-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to make ending cancer a national priority, will officially launch a nationwide play therapy program for children with cancer. Gabe’s Chemo Duck program, as the program is formally known will kick-off a national launch on March 14, 2007 at the MUSC Children’s Hospital. MUSC Children’s Hospital will be the first hospital in South Carolina with the program and represents the first launch since ASCEND Foundation acquired the program to ensure that every child with cancer in the United States receives a chemo duck.
Chemo Duck is an innovative and unique program that provides children with a stuffed animal, namely a duck, who have been diagnosed with cancer. Chemo Duck provides an opportunity to improve communications between the child and their medical team. The duck is also used by the child’s medical team as an educational tool to help the child better understand what is happening to them during their treatment and encourages healing through the power of play therapy.
Chemo Duck was originally created by Lu Sipos when her one-year-old son Gabe was diagnosed with cancer. She wanted to help her son understand what was happening to him, as life quickly became a never-ending round of doctor and hospital visits. Sipos took a gift from a friend and dressed the stuffed yellow duck in blue hospital scrubs, tied a bandana that matched Gabe’s around his head and added a chemotherapy port on its chest and a blood pressure cuff. Chemo Duck instantly became a powerful teaching tool to familiarize Gabe with cancer protocol and procedures.
Sipos wanted to make Chemo Duck available to all children struggling through cancer treatment and to empower parents and family members, so she approached the ASCEND Foundation for help to launch a national program. Her quest is to make Chemo Duck to children with cancer what Mickey Mouse is to every child.
It is the goal of the ASCEND Foundation to utilize the Chemo Duck program to increase awareness about cancer to all those surrounding each child affected by cancer. ASCEND wants to empower parents and family members to raise their voice and let our country’s leadership know the time has come to eradicate cancer. “We should no longer have to watch our children suffer from this horrific illness, nor should we accept the fact that more than half a million Americans die every year from cancer,” states Russ Pritchard chairman of the board for the ASCEND Foundation. “Our mission is to use education and empowerment to support positive healing in lives touched by pediatric cancer and create a unified voice to make understanding the causes of cancer a national priority.”
Following the MUSC Children’s Hospital launch ASCEND Foundation will move forward with launches at other children’s hospitals around the country, such as St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Shands Children’s Hospital at the University of Florida, that have already expressed an interest in offering the program to their patients.
ASCEND, which stands for Anne Scandalios Cancer Ends Now Directive, was formed in 2001 as the result of Anne Scandalios’ battle against breast cancer. Although Anne lost her battle with cancer, the ASCEND Foundation through Anne’s spirit continues her mission to make ending cancer a national priority. ASCEND focuses its efforts on connecting those touched by cancer and empowering them to make a difference by speaking up against cancer. To learn more about ASCEND, its programs and current efforts to eradicate cancer, visit www.ascendfoundation.org or call (843) 225-4055.
ASCEND Celebrates Fifth Anniversary press release, January 2007.
Chicks with Checks press release, November 2006.
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