What is PLGA?

PLGA stands for Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma and is the most common form of childhood brain tumors (ages 0-19). It can be life threatening depending on its location in the brain, and whether or not the tumor can be removed surgically. Its presence and potential growth carries substantial risks and without question the current treatments available impinge on quality of life for those affected. Brain tumors are the #1 cause of cancer death in children, and the #2 overall cause of childhood death behind accidents

What are the current treatment options for PLGA?

According to experts, current treatments are limited to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. All three options offer conflicting and potentially incomplete solutions. All three also often result in added critical complications and permanent adverse side effects due to the punishing nature of the therapies. Furthermore, a subset of PLGA kids, estimated 30-40% overall, will develop progressive disease, according to experts and treatments are far from optimal. These experts say that although radiation and chemo is being made safer it is unlikely to cure many more children with PLGA. In a similar way many experts predict that new chemotherapy regimes will not make "quantum leaps" in the statistics of survival.

Why aren't there kinder, gentler, more effective treatments available?

Families of children with PLGA have held false hopes that research advances were progressing rapidly. This is NOT the case. Historically, PLGA has lagged behind advancements in other children’s cancers, such as childhood leukemia, DUE TO LACK OF FUNDING. As a result, many new drugs have not been tested on PLGA, and clinical studies have been stalled. This is especially disconcerting now that we know researchers and scientists are poised to make progress if funding were available.

Is Team Chickaroo raising funds for particular organization(s)?

Team Chickaroo is raising funds for the LGA Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Chickaroo Classic Golf Tournament and the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. 

Who is behind the chickaroo.org website?

chickaroo.org was started and is run by Rick and Sarah Hamilton, the parents of Caroline, and her brothers Will and Aidan. With a tremendous amount of help from other family, friends, and businesses, our goal is to raise awareness and SIGNIFICANT funds to speed up results towards finding kinder, gentler treatments and a 100% cure for PLGA. We are in the fight of our lives...a fight to save our daughter and the thousands like her around the country, and give ourselves a chance to fulfill the hopes and dreams we have for our family in general.