Donate Support our appeals CAR-T Cell Fighting Fund Donate Fundraise We don't expect cancer to touch the lives of babies and toddlers—but tragically, it does. Neuroblastoma is the deadliest cancer in children under five. Treatment requires young children to endure long, challenging, and toxic therapies that rob them of their childhood. Why We Need Your Help Current treatments for neuroblastoma are simply not good enough. Unfortunately they are only effective in 50% of cases for children with high risk neuroblastoma. The treatments themselves are not suited to young children. Due to limited research, treatments used have often evolved from adult therapies and have not been developed for young, developing bodies. As a result of their toxicity, they often leave late effects which can include Hearing loss Infertility Heart and lung problems Learning difficulties and Increased risk of secondary cancers Neuroblastoma Australia is the only charity 100% focused on finding a cure for neuroblastoma. We focus on raising funds for leading research, not only to ensure that all children with Neuroblastoma survive through more effective treatments, but also that they thrive afterwards. Support innovative neuroblastoma research and donate to our CAR-T Cell Fighting Fund. CAR-T Cell Fighting Fund This Fighting Fund appeal is focused on developing CAR-T Cell therapy for use in children. CAR T-cell therapy is a revolutionary treatment that uses a child’s own immune system to hunt and destroy cancer cells. It’s already transforming lives in adult cancers — and with your support, we can help children in Australia access this potentially life-saving treatment. We can say that we want to ensure Australia develops this therapy as it could help save young children’s lives as it was shown to quadruple the survival of children who have relapsed with neuroblastoma (research published in August this year ) After our amazing community successfully helped us to ensure children in Australia can access DFMO, we’re now turning out attention to this important therapy that has the potential to minimise the need for highly toxic treatments and improve outcomes for young children. We need to raise $500,000 to kickstart the research needed to tailor CAR T-cell therapy for use in children. Your donation will help us support this research desperately needed to improve treatment outcomes for vulnerable children. Donate Now Children like Chloe have to endure long hospital stays and devastating treatment programs In September 2024, three-year-old Chloe’s life changed in an instant during a family camping trip near Bundaberg. After a minor fall, she complained of stomach pain—and by 3am, her parents were rushing her to hospital. An ultrasound revealed something unusual, and the family was urgently flown to Queensland Children’s Hospital. There, a CT scan exposed a 6cm mass. Chloe’s mum, Fiona, asked if it was cancer. The answer confirmed her worst fears, Chloe was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma. Fiona was understandably devastated, I remember Chloe asking me why I was crying. My heart was shattered into a million pieces. How could this be happening to my healthy, fun-loving little girl? Fiona, Chloe’s mum Chloe’s treatment so far has been aggressive, daunting, confronting and cruel; five rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, high-dose chemo, radiation, immunotherapy, and DFMO. She’s too young to understand why her body is being pumped with medicine that makes her sick. It’s cruel and heartbreaking to watch. We feel so helpless as her parents. We just want to protect her. Fiona, Chloe's mum Once a happy family travelling around Australia, they are now tethered to the hospital, unable to venture more than an hour away. Now four years old, Chloe has shown remarkable strength, but Fiona says more must be done, We need better, safer treatments for our children. We need more funding and more research—for Chloe and for every family facing this fight. Fiona, Chloe's mum Childhood Cancer is Significantly Underfunded Only around 10% of Government cancer research funding goes to childhood cancer research and sadly as neuroblastoma is a rare disease it attracts little investment from large pharmaceutical companies. The community plays a critical role in supporting young children impacted by this devastating disease. *data sourced from NHRMC and MRFF from 2018 to 2022. Donate to our CAR-T Cell Fighting Fund Please consider making a donation to Neuroblastoma Australia's CAR-T Cell fighting fund. All donations over $2 are tax-deductible. Your donation brings us closer to a future where all children, like Chloe can access the high-quality and safe treatments they deserve. Donate Now Manage Cookie Preferences