Ava's Army

The mission of Ava’s Army is to raise awareness & to fund life-saving Pediatric Leukemia research. Ava was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age 4 in March of 2017. She finished treatment 800 days later (woohoo!!), however, that treatment came with some horrendous short-term, and long-term, side effects. Since Ava finished treatment in 2019, she has struggled with neuropathy due to the nerve damage from the chemotherapy, as well as severe dental issues. To add to the list, she is also now at a 2/3 higher risk of developing breast cancer and other secondary cancers due to the toxic and outdated treatment she received. The treatment plan she was on, is the same treatment plan they have been using for over 25 years. There have been no advances made for standard Pediatric Leukemia protocols, and it is extremely poisonous for children. Childhood cancer research is devastatingly underfunded, and because of this, children have to fight battles for their lives that no child should fight. We must do better because they deserve so much better. The state of Nebraska is deeply affected by childhood cancer. Nebraska ranks in the top 25% highest pediatric cancer incidence rates in the US, 6th in mortality rates and every 4 days a child living in Nebraska will be diagnosed with cancer. We believe a simple improvement in the treatment provided can drastically improve the statistics above. We created Ava's Army to help fund research to find a better, safer way to save our babies lives. To date, Ava’s Army has donated $100,000 to research for St. Jude's Hospital focusing on Car-T Cell Therapy research, and we are preparing our donation in 2023 to a research study focused on Pediatric Leukemia Relapse patients for $65,000.