Our Mission
Yes, cancer is the biggest killer of children in Israel!
Moshe, who is six years old, has cancer. His impoverished parents live in the Negev development town of Ofakim and can barely meet their everyday needs, let alone an expensive course of treatment that could help reverse his cancer. The treatment that Moshe has to undergo would require him to come to the United States. But, to quote the head of the Israel Medical Association, “Only parents who are well-to-do can afford to send their cancer-stricken children abroad for treatment.” Who is going to help Moshe and the hundreds of other children whose families do not have the financial resources to seek treatment outside of Israel?
Although Israel is technologically advanced in many areas, the delivery of cancer care to unfortunate victims like Moshe has not kept pace with the country’s progress. There is a compelling need for providing quality medical care in Israel to children like Moshe who are afflicted with the dreaded disease of cancer.
In Israel, one in every 330 children, including teenagers, develops cancer before the age of 20. The average age of diagnosis is six. Currently, approximately 500 Israeli children are diagnosed with cancer each year, with more than 1,400 currently under treatment. The most prevalent types of cancer in children are leukemia, brain tumors, bone cancers, neuroblastomas and lymphomas. Childhood cancer, which touches the lives of almost every family, continues to be the number one disease killer of Israeli children and the number of cases are on the rise.
To combat this scourge, with the goal of improving the level of care for these children, the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation – ICCF – is providing funding to the major pediatric centers in Israel. Our Medical Advisory Council, composed of the most respected pediatric cancer specialists in the United States and Israel, carefully review all grant requests for the allocation of these urgently needed funds. To emphasize the importance of these grants, in a letter received from Dr, Myriam Ben Arush, Director of the Pediatric Oncology Unit at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, she writes “The Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation is really remarkable an d we certainly do need such an organization to deliver a better quality of treatment to our young patients”. Priority areas include funding for stem cell/bone marrow transplants, equipment upgrades, and the hiring of nurse practitioners and child life specialists.
Together we can make a difference. What can be a greater reward than seeing the grateful smile and hearing the happy laughter of Moshe and other Israeli children who can look forward to a healthy future because you joined in making it possible?
We look forward to your becoming our partner in fighting childhood cancer by contributing to the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation.
The Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation seeks contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, synagogues, schools and professional and social organizations, so that Israeli children with cancer – regardless of their race, religion, national origin or economic circumstance – can benefit by new treatments and cures. Gifts may be in the form of cash, securities, Israel Bonds, life insurance, real estate, charitable trusts, bequests or other forms preferred by the donor.
The Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation is dedicated to the memory of Neil C. Blond who succumbed to brain cancer in 1998. His courage and fortitude was an inspiration to all who were privileged to know him.
The Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization and all contributions are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.