THE MATTHEW LARSON FOUNDATION for PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMORS
Since 2007, our Board of Directors has worked to fulfill the IronMatt mission to financially
support families living with pediatric brain tumors and to fund research in the hopes of finding a cure.
The Grant Program, driven by top physicians on our Medical Advisory Committee, continues
to review groundbreaking project proposals from cancer researchers around the country. From
cutting edge receptor-based immunotherapies to novel methodologies of blood-brain barrier permeability,
IronMatt has funded research at 24 different institutions. By the end of 2017, IronMatt granted nearly $3 million to help find a cure for pediatric brain tumors.
The Family Assistance Program has grown considerably through the years as social workers in hospitals nationwide learned of the support system. A special FAP committee meets monthly to review requests from families who struggle to keep up with mounting financial burdens as their children struggle to fight cancer. Each child recipient becomes part of the Foundation as an IronKid. To date, IronMatt has helped over 900 families in 45 states.
Since IronMatt’s 10th Anniversary in 2017, the Family Assistance Program has been focusing on the ongoing support of local families, granting requests for various household bills on a regular monthly basis. This change comes with the hope of developing a much deeper connection and support system for each of the IronKids living with pediatric brain tumors.
FACTS On Pediatric Brain Cancer
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Brain tumors are the leading cause of solid tumor cancer death in children between the ages of 0-14.*
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Brain and CNS tumors are the most common cancer in children 0-14 years in the United States.*
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An estimated 4,830 new cases of childhood primary malignant and non-malignant brain and other CNS tumors are expected to be diagnosed in the US in 2017.*
*From Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States. ( CBTRUS )