Fighting for a cure after being saved — The experimental cancer treatment that saved Matt Gephardt's life 47 years ago is now considered routine, and it's cured countless other young patients since then.
“When I was 17 months old in 1971, I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma on my prostate and bladder," said Matt, who lives with his family in Dunwoody. "I was given less than a 10 percent chance to live."
Gephardt was living with his parents in Missouri, where Dr. Abdel Ragab at St. Louis Children’s Hospital treated Matt with chemotherapy.
It was considered “experimental” at the time for pediatric patients, but Dr. Ragab was convinced that what worked for adults could also work for children.
Through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Matt’s tumor shrunk, allowing doctors to operate and remove the tumor and damaged organs.
"The doctors who prescribed these treatments saved my life when there was little hope for my parents," Matt added.
Matt's father, Dick Gephardt, is the Missouri Democrat who served in Congress for nearly 30 years and ran for president a couple of times.
Matt and his parents had a chance to say "thank you" to Dr. Ragab last year during the CURE Childhood Cancer Believe Ball.
They surprised him at the ceremony and presented Dr. Ragab with a lifetime achievement award.
Dr. Ragab founded CURE in 1975 to raise money for equipment and research after he was recruited to Emory University to lead its new division of Hematology/Oncology in Pediatrics.
Matt now serves on the CURE Board, and he's marking September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by hosting fundraising nights and selling $1 and $5 contribution decals for CURE at the Village Burger restaurants he co-owns in Dunwoody, Johns Creek and Tucker.
"I am passionate about CURE’s mission because it is deeply personal to me and my family," Matt explained. "We hope the communities Village Burger serves will join us in September to support CURE’s important mission.”
CURE is dedicated to conquering childhood cancer through funding targeted research while supporting patients and their families.
“At CURE, we know that research is the key to achieving significant progress in the fight against childhood cancer,” said Kristin Connor, Executive Director for CURE. “We are thrilled for the support and awareness that Village Burger’s Go Gold efforts bring us to help in our mission to fund targeted research and support families.”
With cancer as the second leading cause of death in children, CURE awards nearly $4 million annually to specific research projects aimed at curing cancers that affect children (including more than $19 million to Children’s Healthcare in the past decade).
