2021 was the inaugural year of Hayeled Sheli - MyChild’sCancer in Israel. 

 

I would have never expected this to be a year full of initiatives and activities that instilled hope and made a huge impact on our community’s lives. 

 

Our small organization, headed by Varda Shoham as CEO, and with the tremendous assistance and cooperation of MCC, in particular Oded Grienstein and Liron Friedman, has worked diligently and relentlessly to strengthen and establish the basis for our methodological approach, as we support families of kids with cancer.

 

I am proud to share some of the critical accomplishments of the past year that have already yielded positive results: 

 

The establishment of MCC Pediatric Brain Tumor Advisory Committee had a profound effect on Israeli families seeking treatment. 

The committee, established with the substantial assistance of expert neuro-oncologists Drs. Jonathan Finlay and Eric Bouffet, consists of 14 global leading pediatric neuro-oncologists, neuro-surgeons, pathologists and radiation specialists. These physicians host 1 hour telehealth sessions directly with parents and their local physician, answer their questions, suggest treatment options and alternatives, and help weigh benefits and risks. 16 families have benefitted in 2021, changing the course of treatment for children. 

 

We are currently in the process of forming a similar Advisory Committee for Neuroblastoma.

 

A formal training course for Hayeled Sheli volunteers, entitled, “Guiding Parents.” The course welcomed 6 new volunteering parents to learn strategies for emotional processing, to educate on economic rights of families, and role play offering support and guidance.  Several of the newly minted Guiding Parents are linked with specific MCC families in need, helping them navigate at the most difficult crossroads.

 

A successful campaign led by Varda Shoham of MCC called for the inclusion of Neuroblastoma medication in the government sponsored “Israeli basket medications,” to allow families of kids sick with acute Neuroblastoma to receive the medication in Israel. The drug was approved, and this allows families to  remain in the country and receive it at no cost, instead of getting it in the USA at a very high expense and with the emotional and economic costs of dragging the entire family to a far country. 

 

This is just a glimpse into our activities in 2021, and we have so much planned for 2022. In the coming year, we plan to advocate on behalf of Israeli pediatric oncologists to bring more pediatric clinical trials to Israel, so that Israeli children can receive cutting edge treatment in their home country. 

 

It is such a privilege to be able to impact lives for the better, an opportunity that most do not have.

 

We feel that every year we move another step forward towards the fulfillment of our mission: 

to give hope to parents fighting childhood cancer by finding the best treatment for their child.

 

May you always be on the giving side! Wishing you a year of health and happiness!