Levine Children's Hospital gets $5M for cancer fight

CHARLOTTE, NC — Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital said Tuesday that it's getting $5 million from the Isabella Santos Foundation to fight cancer.

The Isabella Santos Foundation Rare & Solid Tumor Program will oversee care for all solid tumors, rare tumors, metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) therapy, and all related clinical and scientific research.

The donation is one of the single largest in the hospital's history.

Levine Children’s said it will mean they can bring together a team of doctors and researchers to focus on tumors.  About a third of the 135 new cancer patients that come to the hospital every year will be impacted.

“This gift is special because not only will it help us establish a program that will transform pediatric cancer care in the region, but it is also a sign of the deep level of trust that the Santos family places in Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital,” said Gene Woods, President and CEO of Atrium Health. “We don’t take this trust lightly – we commit to honoring the memory of Isabella as we fulfill our mission to improve health, elevate hope, and advance healing for all.”

Last year, the Isabella Santos Foundation announced a $1 million donation that allowed Levine Children's for a special room that will allow a child battling neuroblastoma cancer to be with family during radiation treatment. Children will now be able to travel to Charlotte to receive care that once wasn't possible. The room - set to open later this year - will be one of only 20 in the country.

In 2007, Isabella Santos was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer that affects approximately 750 children a year. She passed away in 2012, but the foundation her mother set up in her honor continues the fight and works to bring top-quality cancer treatment to the Charlotte area.

“While I wish Isabella could have received the therapy in Charlotte, it is through her legacy that other families will be able to do so – and we are providing them with access to the most innovative research and treatments in their own backyard,” said Erin Santos.

Learn more about the foundation at www.isabellasantosfoundation.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IsabellaSantosFoundation.

Cox Media Group