Recent Videos From Our 4th Annual Run For The Children

These are some videos from our 4th Annual Run For The Children

5th Annual Run For The Children

On October 3rd 2010 ( October 10th Rain date),  The OLDTIMERS Motorcycle club and Open Your Heart To Children Battling Cancer will have its 5th Annual Run For the Children. The Event will take place at Kenneth Ave Pop Warner Field In South Plainfield, NJ 07080.

Sign In 9:30-11 am at the field. Ride leaves 11:15 sharp!!!

Scenic Ride through Somerset County and return to field at 1:00pm for food, drink, prizes, live band, vendors.

$20.00 per Rider-$10.00 per passenger

Contact Richie  ofthebear@aol.com 732-406-2826, Greg oldtimers_mcgreg@yahoo.com 908-405-7753, Guy Moretti morettig@morettirealty.com 908 755-5300

We have inserted 2 images that can be printed as we our looking forVendors and Contributors for this event. Please also view our videos below.

Vendors Wanted

Contributions

Opening Hearts to Children Battling Cancer

A donation is made by the Open Your Heart to Children Battling Cancer Foundation

Guy Moretti saw the devastating effects of childhood cancer when his friend’s four-year old son was diagnoseded with leukemia. A parent himself, he found the family’s anguish and financial hardship so unimaginable that he started a charity to help.

About six years ago, he and his co-workers at Century 21 Moretti Realty created the Open Your Heart to Children Foundation. So far they have raised over $500,000 to assist families stricken by the disease while supporting pediatric  oncology research and treatment.

“We wanted to embrace a cause that allowed us to give back to the  community,” stated Mr. Moretti. ” There are few resources available to families caring for sick children. They are under incredible stress… sometimes losing their jobs, their homes, their cars just to stay afloat. We’re trying to make their lives a little bit easier.”

In addition to helping families directly, the Foundation partners with organizations that  share its passion for fighting pediatric cancers and blood disorders. Since 2006, it  has donated over $100,000 to JFK Medical Center’s pediatric brain tumor program as well as the Haven Hospice Children’s Program and other Solaris Health System services related to childhood cancer.

The Open Your Heart to Children Battling Cancer Foundation garners money through individual donations and many community fundraisers, incluading walk-a-thons, Casino Nights, and the annual ” Old Timers Motorcycle Race and Community Picnic” to be held in South Plainfield, NJ this fall. ” our greatest hope is that they find a cure for childhood cancer” said Mr. Moretti. ” But in the meantime we can help ease the pain for affected families, whether its purchasing groceries, making mortgage payments or providing health service referrals.”

Without question, this very special foundation is enriching the care of 
pediatric patients at JFK Medical Center and throughout central New Jersey…one heart, and one child at a time.

This article was published in the Touching Lives Newsletter Summer 2009 edition by the Solaris Health System an JFK Medical Center 

4th Annual Run For the Children Battling Cancer

This event is sponsored by the Open Your Heart To Children Foundation Battling Cancer (In cooperation with the OLD Timers Motor Cycle Club and Moretti Realty)

All Proceeds To Benefit Children Battling Cancer

What have studies shown about the possible causes of childhood cancer?

Below is an article that states what studies have been conducted.

For several decades, the NCI, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has supported national and international collaborations devoted to studying the causes of cancer in children. Key findings from this research include the following:

• High levels of ionizing radiation from accidents or from radiotherapy have been linked with increased risk of some childhood cancers.

• Children with cancer treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may be at increased risk for developing a second primary cancer. For example, certain types of chemotherapy, including alkylating agents or topoisomerase II inhibitors (e.g., epipodophyllotoxins), can cause an increased risk of leukemia.

• Recent research has shown that children with AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), like adults with AIDS, have an increased risk of developing certain cancers, predominantly non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Kaposi sarcoma. These children also have an additional risk of developing leiomyosarcoma (a type of muscle cancer).

• Certain genetic syndromes (e.g., Li-Fraumeni syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and Gorlin syndrome) have been linked to an increased risk of specific childhood cancers.

• Children with Down syndrome have an increased risk of developing leukemia.

• Low levels of radiation exposure from indoor radon have not been significantly associated with childhood leukemias.

• Ultrasound use during pregnancy has not been linked with childhood cancer in numerous large studies.

• Residential magnetic field exposure from power lines has not been significantly associated with childhood leukemias.

• Pesticides have been suspected to be involved in the development of certain forms of childhood cancer based on interview data. However, interview results have been inconsistent and have not yet been validated by physical evidence of pesticides in the child’s body or environment.

• No consistent findings have been observed linking specific occupational exposures of parents to the development of childhood cancers.

• Several studies have found no link between maternal cigarette smoking before pregnancy and childhood cancers, but increased risks have been related to the father’s smoking habits in studies in the United Kingdom and China.

• Little evidence has been found to link specific viruses or other infectious agents to the development of most types of childhood cancers, though investigators worldwide are exploring the role of exposures of very young children to some common infectious agents that may protect children from, or put them at risk for, developing certain leukemias.

What research is NCI currently doing on childhood cancer?The NCI is funding a large portfolio of studies (http://researchportfolio.cancer.gov/) looking at the causes of and the most effective treatments for childhood cancers. Ongoing investigations include:• Studies to identify causes of the cancers that develop in children: The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) (http://www.childrensoncologygroup.org) is evaluating potential risk factors for a variety of childhood cancers. Very large studies have been completed of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the brain, astrocytoma, neuroblastoma, and germ cell tumors. One large study, the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, is evaluating the risks of second cancers related to radiation therapy and chemotherapy received by survivors of childhood cancer as part of treatment for their primary cancer (see below).

COG has also established a Childhood Cancer Research Network that creates a national registry of children with cancer. This initiative builds upon the unique NCI-supported national clinical trials system for treating children with cancer.

• Monitoring of U.S. and international trends in incidence and mortality rates for childhood cancers: By identifying places where high or low cancer rates occur, researchers can uncover patterns of cancer that provide important clues for further in-depth studies into the causes and control of cancer.

• Studies to better understand the biology of childhood cancer, with the hope that this understanding will lead to new treatment approaches that target critical cellular processes required for cancer cell growth and survival: The Childhood Cancer Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) Initiative was established by the NCI and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health to identify and validate therapeutic targets in childhood cancers. The first TARGET project focuses on targets for high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the second TARGET project focuses on neuroblastoma. More information about the TARGET Initiative can be found in the article “Initiative TARGETs Childhood Cancer” at http://www.cancer.gov/NCICancerBulletin/NCI_Cancer_Bulletin_112106 on the Internet.

• Preclinical studies (animal studies) of new agents to identify promising anticancer drugs that can be evaluated in clinical trials: The NCI-supported Pediatric Preclinical Testing Program (PPTP) systematically evaluates new drugs and substances using animal models (animals with a cancer similar to or the same as a cancer found in children) to find the drugs most likely to have significant anticancer effects in clinical trials. The program is based on a large amount of research showing that animal models imitate the effects of proven anticancer drugs and can be used to prospectively identify new drugs that are effective against childhood cancers in subsequent patient studies. More information about the PPTP is available at http://pptp.stjude.org/ on the Internet. Questions concerning the PPTP can be addressed to the PPTP Project Officer, Dr. Malcolm Smith (smithm@ctep.nci.nih.gov).

• Projects designed to improve the health status of survivors of childhood cancers: The NCI funds the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), a study coordinated by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The CCSS has over 25 sites across the country at medical institutions with doctors specializing in long-term care for children and young adults. This study was created to gain new knowledge and to educate cancer survivors about the long-term effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Information about the study is available at http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=0d5dd3ce38e70110VgnVCM100
0001e0215acRCRD&vgnextchannel=cc66c08e1f5d3110VgnVCM1000001e0215acRCRD on the Internet.

• Clinical trials to identify superior treatments for childhood cancers, thereby leading to improved survival rates for children with cancer: Each year about 4,000 children enter 1 of approximately 100 ongoing clinical trials sponsored by the NCI. The following groups are conducting these trials:

The COG, with support from the NCI, conducts clinical trials devoted exclusively to children and adolescents with cancer at more than 200 member institutions, including cancer centers of all major universities, teaching hospitals throughout the United States and Canada, and sites in Europe and Australia. COG was formed in 2000 by the merger of four children’s cancer cooperative groups to accelerate the search for a cure for childhood cancers and to make it possible for children with cancer, regardless of where they live, to have access to state-of-the-art therapies and the collective expertise of world-renowned pediatric specialists.

The Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) (http://www.pbtc.org) includes 10 leading academic institutions with extensive experience in the design and conduct of clinical trials for children with brain tumors. The group’s primary objective is to rapidly conduct phase I and II clinical evaluations of new therapeutic drugs, treatment delivery technologies, new biological therapies, and radiation treatment strategies in children up to age 21 with primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Another objective of the PBTC is to develop and coordinate innovative neuroimaging techniques. Results from PBTC studies are made available to large international collaborative groups for confirmatory phase II and multiagent phase III clinical trials.

New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT) (http://www.nant.org) is a consortium of university and children’s hospitals funded by the NCI to test promising new therapies for neuroblastoma. NANT members constitute a group of closely collaborating investigators linked with laboratory programs where novel therapies for high-risk neuroblastoma are being developed. The group conducts early clinical trials to test new drugs and new combinations of drugs so promising therapies can be tested nationally.

The Pediatric Oncology Branch (POB) (http://home.ccr.cancer.gov/oncology/pediatric/) of the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research conducts basic, preclinical, and clinical studies of childhood cancer at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. Basic studies include analyses of genetic and biological characteristics of childhood cancers, as well as the study of immune system interactions with these cancers and the effects of chemotherapy on the immune system. Preclinical studies by the POB identify new drugs and types of immunotherapy (treatment to boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer), as well as agents to control infectious diseases that occur in childhood cancer patients. An active clinical trial program includes phase I and phase II studies of new agents to treat childhood cancers, with a focus on molecularly targeted therapy and immunotherapy, as well as bone marrow transplantation and the development of immunotoxins (antibodies linked to a toxic substance that bind to cancer cells and kill them) to treat childhood leukemia. The POB also develops and tests new treatments for tumors associated with genetic predisposition syndromes such as neurofibromatosis type 1 and multiple endocrine neoplasia.

• Evaluations of new drugs that may be more effective against childhood cancers and that may have less toxicity for children: The COG Phase I/Pilot Consortium is a major component of the NCI’s pediatric drug development program. The primary objective of the consortium is to develop and implement pediatric phase I and pilot studies to promote the integration of advances in cancer biology and therapy into the treatment of childhood cancer. The consortium includes approximately 20 institutions that carefully monitor the drugs for toxicity and safety. After their initial evaluation for safety in children by the consortium, the agents and regimens can then be studied within the larger group of COG institutions to determine their role in the treatment of specific childhood cancers.

Selected References

 
1. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2007. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society. Retrieved December 26, 2007, from http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2007PWSecured.pdf. 
2. Ries LAG, Melbert D, Krapcho M, et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2004. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2007, from http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2004. 
3. Smith MA, Freidlin B, Ries LA, Simon R. Trends in reported incidence of primary malignant brain tumors in children in the United States. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1998; 90(17):1269–1277..

Children and Cancer are two nouns that should never appear in the same sentence

Open Your Heart to Children Battling Cancer Foundation, Inc was founded by a group of  REALTORS from Century 21 Moretti

• To make a difference
• Provide non-medical services to families
• Support pediatric oncology research
• Enhance the quality of life and care for children with cancer and blood disorders

Phone: 908-755-5051 Ext 406   Email: openyourheart@morettirealty.com