Isabella Santos Foundation gives $5 million for rare & solid tumor program at Levine Children’s Hospital

Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital announced a $5 million charitable commitment from the Isabella Santos Foundation to establish The Isabella Santos Foundation Rare & Solid Tumor Program at Levine Children’s Hospital. The program will oversee care for all solid tumors, rare tumors, metaiodobenzylguanidine therapy and all related clinical and scientific research at Levine Children’s Hospital.

The team will be constructed over a period of five years, with the initial focus on hiring a medical director, who will be the Isabella Santos Foundation Endowed Chair in Rare & Solid Tumors. This program will serve nearly one-third of the 135 new cancer patients Levine Children’s Hospital sees each year and will allow the hospital to expand their clinical trials.

This $5 million gift comes on the heels of a $1 million donation the Isabella Santos Foundation made in 2017 to help build a MIBG suite at Levine Children’s Hospital. The two-room MIBG suite, which will include a lead-lined patient room and an adjoining room for parents and caregivers, will provide targeted radiation to pediatric neuroblastoma patients and is slated to open in late 2018.

In 2007, Isabella Santos was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer that affects approximately 750 children a year. During her five-year fight against cancer, Isabella received much of her care at Levine Children’s Hospital. However, some of the clinical trials and advanced treatments she needed were only available out of state.

While the Santos family had the option of seeking treatment elsewhere, Erin Santos, Isabella’s mother and co-founder and president of the Isabella Santos Foundation, knew many others who couldn’t. With this gift, families will have access to the latest cancer treatments and expertise in Charlotteand this region.

Javier Oesterheld, the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation Endowed Chair in Cancer & Blood Disorders and Specialty Medical Director at Levine Children’s Hospital’s Torrence E. Hemby, Jr. Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplant Center, cared for Isabella and has spent his career specializing in neuroblastoma, with an emphasis on conducting clinical trials.