Father battles to discover a remedy for his son's cancer.

At nine years old, Frederico Goldsztein was diagnosed with a life-altering brain tumor known as Medulloblastoma, which is the most common brain cancer in children.

In Brazil, Frederico, now 17, led a healthy life with his family and was passionate about school and reading. His father, Fernando Goldsztein, stated that Frederico had read every Agatha Christie novel. However, Frederico received a diagnosis.

Fernando told Planet Chronicle that it's the worst thing a father or mother can hear.

"Seeing a child endure cancer is heartbreaking, especially considering their long and promising future."

A possible breakthrough for the 500 families whose children have been diagnosed with a deadly form of brain tumor is now possible thanks to the fundraising efforts of a determined father and the doctors at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. Fernando, a cancer survivor himself, traveled from Brazil to the US in search of a cure for his son and a way to minimize the brain damage and side effects caused by treating this deadly form of brain cancer.

Unfortunately, despite the tremendous advancements in technology and medicine over the past few decades, kids with brain tumors have not benefited from these developments.

Frederico, like many of the patients, relapsed.

In 2019, when Fernando relapsed, he collaborated with a top children's brain tumor specialist in the U.S. and established the Medulloblastoma Initiative.

Dr. Roger Packer, Director of the Brain Tumor Program at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C., explained that we assembled a top team of investigators globally to focus solely on one type of Medulloblastoma.

"Fernando posed a challenge to me, asking if we could develop a new approach to create better therapies faster. He was well aware of the lengthy process involved in bringing a new treatment to market, which could take up to 15 years from discovery to proof of efficacy."

Medulloblastoma, which accounts for 20% of all childhood brain tumors, is the most common form of brain cancer in children. In the U.S., 500 new cases are diagnosed annually. Despite the current treatment, developed in the 1980s, children diagnosed with medulloblastoma often experience lifelong cognitive and developmental problems.

Two FDA-approved treatments are on the brink of being available for children with treatment, one of which alters the tumor's immunology using vaccines like the mRNA technology used to create the COVID vaccine.

Dr. Packer explained that they hope the approval of two and a half windows with novel therapies for children with a subset of Medulloblastoma will be generalizable to other brain tumors in the very near future.

Every dollar raised contributes to the scientific research behind a cure.

"Fernando acknowledged the challenges ahead and the need for additional support to help all the kids. He stated, 'We know that we have a long way to go, and we still require more assistance and more individuals to help us with this task.' "The parents of these kids are aware that they have no options. As a result, they turn to me for help. However, I am not a doctor, and I cannot provide them with the necessary medical assistance. I refer some of them to Doctor Packer, who sees our initiative as their only hope."