Saving lives from cancer
By Daniel Scola
Zero Hora - 12/01/2023
An entrepreneur from Porto Alegre is making a physical and financial commitment to finding a cure for head cancer in children. It's an innovative project that will mean a lot to world health. With the Medulloblastoma Initiative (MB Initiative), Fernando Goldsztein has managed to raise around US$7 million in less than two years (half from his own pocket) to fund research in the United States.
The goal is to reach US$15 million. Fernando is too humble to tell you the details and not sound self-congratulatory. But I can talk and I will.
It was a case in his family that mobilized the entrepreneur. He discovered that there was no treatment protocol for patients with recurrent medulloblastoma, which developed in 25,000 children in one year. Figures show that 10,000 children died without much hope. This has been going on for over 30 years.
I haven't been a child for long, but as an adult I discovered the same tumor in my head. I'm one of the people who was saved, thanks to science, good professionals and a good hospital. I've seen many children along the long road I've traveled and nothing is more moving than little ones suffering.
In September 2022, the renowned American journal Nature published the findings of research that is close to the recipe for fighting cancer. The work is funded by the initiative of the Porto Alegre businessman and endorsed by a Brazilian specialist. Oncologist André Fay attests that this research will find a cure.
Funding from the Medulloblastoma Initiative pays for research in 11 different hospitals around the world: eight in the US, two in Canada and one in Germany, all led by American doctor Roger Packer, considered the pope of pediatric oncology. Fernando, 56, says that even if he succeeds in curing this type of cancer, he won't stop there.
The explanation for investing in research outside Brazil is elementary: in other countries, research is already underway. Laboratories are better equipped and researchers are more accustomed to philanthropy. Fernando has everything in mind. In the United States, of every dollar invested in fighting cancer, 96 cents goes to types that affect adults and only four cents to diseases in children. Oncologist André Fay guarantees that the study could be used for treatment anywhere in the world, including Brazil.
Original Story: Zero Hour
