For parents, one of the most frightening things you can hear is that your child has cancer. It’s the No. 1 cause of death by disease among children in the U.S.; more succumb to the disease than to AIDS, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and asthma combined.

For more than 40 years, Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer has crusaded against pediatric cancer to give families hope. A large part of the group’s efforts has been supporting innovative research and improved treatments developed at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The organization estimates only 4% of federal funding is directed to pediatric cancer research, making private support from groups like Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer even more important. Recently, the organization supported research at UT Southwestern focused on understanding the genetic makeup of individual tumor cells, harnessing the body’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells, and stem cell research – all of which hold potential to identify new ways to detect and treat childhood cancer.

“We are interested in the scientific advances that allow physicians to personalize the medication to the disease and the child. This can improve treatment outcomes, and in some cases, it may even shorten the treatment period or reduce treatment side effects,” said Shane Lashley, Chairman of Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer, who also leads the organization’s Scientific & Medical Research Committee. “The recent projects with UT Southwestern are indicative of our mutual goal to expand our support to a new level.”