Make a Difference for a Child (MAD)

I am sorry to say I have a child with an inoperable brain tumor. I lived the research for my book The Healing Place, an Inspirational novel that won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart Contest in 2006. The Healing Place became available in bookstores December 2007. The story is centered around a child suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. While this book is a work of fiction, many of the scenes are based on very real situations and the tale carries a sweet message of faith, loyalty and love.

Thanks to the Lord, our personal saga has a happy ending. Approximately 23% of all deaths in the United States each year are caused by cancer. All of us have loved ones who have been afflicted by this horrible disease. Children comprise roughly one-third of the U.S. population (74.2 million) and brain tumors are their leading cause of solid tumor cancer death.

We each have special people in our lives who give us strength when our troubles become too burdensome to carry alone. You are just such a person and you can do much good in the world to benefit children suffering with a life-threatening illness. I urge you to contact one of the following worthwhile organizations to see if you can help out by donating time or monetary sustenance. You never know when it might be you or your child who needs their assistance.

The Koret Family House, who provides a home environment for families with critically ill children to stay while receiving treatment at UCSF Hospital in San Francisco. Their mailing address is: Family House, Inc., 540 Mission Bay Blvd. North, San Francisco, CA 94158, Phone: (415) 476-8321

The Make-A-Wish Foundation, who blesses the lives of critically ill children and their families. The foundation is made up of people who remind families in distress what service is all about and how generous mankind truly can be. Their mailing address for the Northern-Nevada Chapter is: Make-A-Wish, 1 E. Liberty Street, Suite 600, Reno, NV  89501, Phone: (775) 826-8008

The Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, who continues to help fund research and provides hope in a weary world of fear. Their mailing address is: Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, 1460 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, Phone: (212) 448-9494

The University of California-San Francisco, Brain Tumor Research Center, where an army of doctors and professionals fight to save lives. Their mailing address is: UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center, P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339, Phone:  (877) 499-8273