Medical science has made significant and rapid advances in the treatment of pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors so that children who are diagnosed with this illness are living longer than ever before. A number of children have experienced their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs or First Communions. Others have gone back to school, graduated from college, and have become part of their communities.

On the other hand, not nearly enough has been done to ease emotional pain and suffering associated with this illness. In response to that need, The Making Headway Foundation was established in September 1996 by Maya and Edward Manley and Clint Greenbaum, all of whom are parents of children who survived a brain tumor. Making Headway is dedicated to providing supportive care to families of children with brain and spinal cord tumors, before surgery, during the hospital stay, and after the child returns home.

Making Headway’s mission is to provide comfort and care to the children and their families as they undergo the fear, anxiety and stress of hospitalization, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. We do this through the many programs we fund at the New York University Medical Center to make the hospital stay more comfortable. These programs enhance the excellent medical care provided by the doctors, nurses and staff.

Once the child returns home and the family tries to resume a more “normal” life, our Ongoing Care Program offers free-of-charge counseling, support groups, and education remediation services.

While we will continue to offer these services, we will focus on the third part of our mission: cure. Much more research is needed to improve medical treatments for the many children where the outcome is not as favorable. There are many exciting research opportunities available that we can fund at the NYU Medical Center, and we will be exploring them in the months ahead. We also look forward to the completion of the new Hassenfeld Children’s Center next year, where we will do our part to make the hospital experience as comfortable as possible for the children and their parents.