Monday, November 14, 2022

Monday, November 14, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2008, around the time of Peter's birthday. Mattie worked on creating a cake out of model magic and colored it in a fun way. To this day, we still have this cake on display. I am sure Mattie's art therapists at the time did not realize they were helping Mattie and us create legacy items, but in essence this is what every art creation of Mattie's has become. We are thankful to have each and every one of these items in our possession. 

Quote of the day: Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time. It tell us to tell each other right now that we love each other. ~ Leo Buscaglia

I have no idea how, in the midst of all that I have been dealing with, I was able to write a November newsletter for the Foundation and push it out today to all of our supporters and on social media. I have held off sharing the news on the blog, because I wanted it captured officially first. But I am proud to say that Mattie Miracle is partnering with the B+ Foundation, who has generously donated $115k to support implementation research with the Psychosocial Standards of Care. We have a long standing connection with this special non-profit, and it makes perfect sense to form a partnership on the next phase of Standards research. This research is vital to our mission, because Mattie Miracle is committed to seeing these Standards applied at all treatment centers in the country, thereby making sure that children with cancer and their families have access to evidence-based psychosocial care. 

To read the specifics, here is the article from our November Newsletter:

Mattie Miracle met Joe McDonough, the Founder of The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation in March of 2012, when he and his daughter, Ali, attended Mattie Miracle’s Psychosocial Symposium for Childhood Cancer on Capitol Hill. The Symposium launched a three year long international research project to develop the first Psychosocial Standards of Care. The Standards were published in a special supplement of Pediatric Blood & Cancer in 2015. These historic evidence-based Standards define what children with cancer and their families must receive to effectively support their psychosocial needs from the time of diagnosis, through survivorship, or end of life and bereavement care. Soon after the Standards were published, The B+ Foundation became one of the first professional endorsers of the Standards, signaling their commitment to evidence based psychosocial care. 

The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation is named in memory of Andrew McDonough. Andrew battled leukemia, septic shock, and complications of childhood cancer for 167 days before passing away on July 14, 2007, at the age of 14. Andrew’s B+ blood type became his family’s and friends’ motto throughout his fight against childhood cancer – to “Be Positive.” The B+ Foundation is the largest provider of financial assistance to families of kids with cancer in the US, helping over 4,000 families this year and have proudly provided funding to over 150 critical, cutting-edge childhood cancer research projects at top institutions globally.

Mattie Miracle is committed to seeing the Psychosocial Standards of Care operationalized at every cancer center in the Country. However, to achieve this goal, implementation research must be conducted to 1) assess the extent childhood cancer programs in the United States are delivering care consistent with the Standards, 2) capture the voice of family caregivers to determine which Standards of Care should be prioritized for implementation, and 3) identify barriers and facilitators of implementing the prioritized Standards. 

To conduct a large-scale implementation study of this kind, requires significant funding. Mattie Miracle is thrilled to announce that The B+ Foundation has generously awarded the Standards Research Team a $115,000 grant to pursue this cutting-edge research. The team conducting this study represents a strong partnership between family advocacy groups (Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation, Momcology) and researchers (Dr. Anne Kazak, Dr. Kimberly Canter, Michele Scialla, Dr. Emily Pariseau, Dr. Kamyar Arasteh, Dr. Lori Wiener) who are leaders in the development, testing and implementation of psychosocial care in pediatrics.

Victoria Sardi-Brown (Mattie Miracle Co-Founder and President) stated, “We are grateful to Joe McDonough and The B+ Foundation for their long-standing commitment to The Psychosocial Standards of Care. When it came time to seek funding for this groundbreaking implementation research study, Mattie Miracle chose to partner with The B+ Foundation. The B+ Foundation is a leader in the childhood cancer advocacy community, they generously support cutting edge research, and they have been an integral part of the Standards of Care development journey since 2012. I am confident with B+ Foundation’s financial support that the Standards will continue to guide and to support the psychosocial care of children with cancer and their families.” 

Joe McDonough (The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation Founder) stated, “There is no disputing the significant physical challenges that a child with cancer faces, but far too many people don’t realize the profound emotional challenges that the children – and their families – face. We have tremendous admiration for Mattie Miracle for advancing the need for and then creation and implementation of the Psychosocial Standards of Care. While there have been many people involved in the Standards, I will always thank Vicki and Peter Brown for being the catalysts. The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation is proud to be a partner in their efforts.”