Research at the UT Health Science Center Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute is vital for families with children who have cancer, and is getting a financial boost through a Hyundai Hope Grant.
Four-year-old Waylon Malone was diagnosed late last year with stage four neuroblastoma, the most common form of solid cancer in kids. It was located in his abdomen, but recently his mom Stacy got some good news.
Doctors suspect the tumor has morphed into non-cancerous cells.
"It's such a hard thing to go through," said Malone. "The hospital really becomes your second home and you just count and rely on the doctors and the nurses and everyone caring for him."
The research at the UT Health Science Center Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute is vital for families like this, and now through a Hyundai Hope Grant, the institute is getting a $250,000 boost.
Hyundai Motor America's Rick Dorn presented a check to the institute.
"It's very, very meaningful for us personally," said Dorn during the ceremony. "It's one of the most important things that we do."
Assistant Professors Dr. Alex Bishop and Dr. Vivian Rebel collaborated to find a specific treatment to get rid of cells that go awry.
“We might actually be able to target them specifically using drugs that we know affect cells that have that sort of deficiency," Bishop said.
Rebel says it's hard to express in words what it means to be a part of this team.
"Now we're at this point that we can actually work together and see what we can do together, and that means a lot," said Rebel.