A Note from the Hope Fund Co-Founders

It's hard to believe that it has been five years since our daughter Jen was diagnosed with MPNST, a rare and aggressive form of soft tissue sarcoma.

Our lives were turned upside-down by the devastating reality that a vicious cancer was attacking Jen. We watched, frustrated, as doctors treated her while explaining the lack of treatment options available to sarcoma patients. We searched for answers, but came up short.

When Jen was pronounced cancer-free, Ken and I decided to establish the Hope Fund for Sarcoma Research through the National Foundation of Cancer Research (NFCR) with the goal of providing funding for the key elements of research that would lead to an improved understanding, and ultimately, effective treatments for MPNST and other sarcomas.

Today, we are closer than ever before. We are thrilled that the efforts are paying off. In the four short years since the Hope Fund was established, there has been significant headway made in research. In this year alone, our scientists have made several major scientific observations, one that will soon be published and two that are under review by major cancer research journals.

The most notable finding is a discovery by the Hope Fund scientist at the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson, Dr. Dina Lev. U.S. News and World Report ranks the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as the top cancer hospital in the United States. Dr. Lev is one of the first to evaluate the effect of HDACi (inhibitors of histone deacteylase or HDAC, enzymes that regulate gene expression) on Neurofibromatosis type-1 associated MPNST and sporadic MPNST. She discovered that combining HDACi with an agent that blocks autophagy - a state where cells remain dormant or "asleep" - significantly blocked primary and metastatic tumor growth in NF-1 associated and sporadic MPNST in preclinical models. Dr. Lev's encouraging preclinical results when using HDACi and autophagy blocking agent combinations possibly support further testing in a clinical trial for MPNST patients - such trials will hopefully help these patients and lead to new MPNST treatments.

The Hope Fund news comes at a time when we are rejoicing for two new blessings in our lives - our daughter Jen's twin babies! Riley Elizabeth and Luke Alexander were born on April 20, 2010. They are our little miracles - born after doctors told Jennifer that it was unlikely she would ever have children. Today, she remains cancer-free after five years, and with the efforts of continued sarcoma research, she and the 10,000 other patients diagnosed yearly with soft tissue sarcomas may have a better chance of living cancer-free as well.

We realize there are so many pressing charitable concerns. Asking you to fund cancer research is difficult for us to do - we understand that while our passion may not be yours, we ask you to envision a world where every person, every child, has the opportunity for a cure from this family of devastating cancers.

Please click here to make an online donation, call 1-800-321-CURE (2873) and specify the Hope Fund, or mail in a donation to NFCR, Hope Fund for Sarcoma Research, 4600 East West Highway, STE 525, Bethesda, MD 20814.

From our family to yours, we wish you many blessings.

In gratitude,

Marianne and Ken Bouldin

Co-Founders, Hope Fund for Sarcoma Research at NFCR