Bay Area nonprofit helps childhood cancer patients along with parents who lost their kids

Helping families struggling with childhood cancer

The Bay Area nonprofit 1Voice Foundation Academy is a valuable resource for kids with cancer, along with their families. The organization also remembers children lost to cancer.

BRANDON, Fla. - Beside a peaceful lake in Brandon is a spot where pictures on the walls tell stories of kids who have battled cancer – kids like Finn.

"He was 6 years old. He was diagnosed his first week of Kindergarten. He relapsed his second week of first grade," said his mother, Christen Gray.

Finn died not long after that from a rare form of cancer that attacks bones and skin.

"The biggest thing that you worry about is that somebody's going to forget your child when you become a bereaved parent," said Christen.

She says the Tampa-based 1Voice Foundation Academy has been an invaluable source of comfort and strength.

The academy is at the Rotary Camp in Brandon. Kids with cancer go to school together with teachers from Hillsborough County's Hospital and Homebound Program. Kids and families get support, but their numbers keep growing.

Mary Ann Massalio, whose own son Jay died from childhood cancer, is the executive director.

"When I started 30 years ago, leukemias and lymphomas were about 80 percent of our patient load. Now it's the brain tumors that have escalated."

Massalio doesn't know why that is, but 1Voice is helping fund laboratory research. She says that although we hear a lot about childhood cancer, people might be surprised at the funding level for research.

"Only 4 percent of cancer research dollars goes to pediatric."

To push for more funding, they believe the shoes their children wore before they died can serve as a symbol.

"They now represent the fact that he's not here and we place them on the shoe memorial in Washington every year," said Christen.

The event is called Curefest. It will be held this weekend. Finn's shoes will be among 1,800 pairs placed near the Washington Monument. It represents the 1,800 children who die annually from cancer.

The 1Voice Foundation works with children’s hospitals all over the Tampa Bay area. If you think your child could benefit from 1Voice, ask your oncologist for information.

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