The Paula Takacs Foundation for Sarcoma Research

05/26/2026

We are incredibly grateful to be a 2026 grant recipient of the 24 Foundation 🧡

This support directly benefits our financial assistance program through Family Reach, helping ease the financial burden for families navigating a cancer diagnosis.

Get excited for 24 Foundation’s upcoming Charlotte fundraiser, 24 Hours of B***y, happening July 24–25!

Thank you for helping bring relief, stability, and hope to families when they need it most. 🎗️

05/21/2026

ATTENTION: Kids with Osteosarcoma or Ewing Sarcoma!!!

This Is BIG: The BCC023 Trial using DFMO for Ewing Sarcoma and Osteosarcoma is NOW ENROLLING!!!!

What This Is: DFMO (Eflornithine) for Ewing Sarcoma and Osteosarcoma

What This Means: Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma primarily affect adolescents and young adults. Common treatments include chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. There have been no real advancements to the standard of care in decades. By incorporating DFMO (eflornithine) as an additional therapy and/or maintenance therapy, our team of experts believe to observe improved event-free survival and overall survival.

Why This Matters: With little to no change to treatment protocol since the standards of care were developed, this trial provides an additional, less-toxic form of therapy for children battling these pediatric sarcomas. DFMO has been shown to successfully prevent relapse in neuroblastoma and laboratory research indicates the same results may be seen in sarcomas. This trial represents hope for countless children and families.

Anyone wishing to enroll immediately will have to travel to Penn State Health in Hershey until other sites begin to open. For enrollment information, please email: PSHPedOncIntake@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Research: Beat Childhood Cancer

05/19/2026

Save the Date | Light the Night ✨

This July, in recognition of Sarcoma Awareness Month, we invite you to join us for Light the Night—a gathering of hope, remembrance, and community in support of sarcoma research.

The evening will center around our signature luminary ceremony, where we gather under the night sky to honor, remember, and shine a light on all those touched by sarcoma.

📅 July 16th | 7:00–9:30 PM
📍 Norfolk Hall, Charlotte, NC

🎟 Tickets, luminaries, and additional event details will be announced in June—we can’t wait to share what’s in store.

05/14/2026

Research Highlight: Ewing Sarcoma at Levine Children's

The Paula Takacs Foundation is proud to help fund innovative research focused on Ewing sarcoma, one of the most aggressive bone cancers affecting children and young adults.

This study is investigating why certain tumor cells survive chemotherapy and later lead to relapse and metastasis. Using advanced single-cell analysis technology, researchers are working to identify the specific cancer cell populations that are resistant to treatment.

By better understanding the cells that drive disease spread, this research could help pave the way for more targeted therapies designed to improve outcomes and prevent relapse for children facing Ewing sarcoma.

Every research breakthrough brings us one step closer to better treatments and brighter futures for sarcoma patients and families.

Learn more about the studies we're funding: https://paulatakacsfoundation.org/trials-and-studies/

05/11/2026

A rare chondrosarcoma diagnosis left 58-year-old Alan and his wife Lynne navigating more than surgeries, second opinions, and side effects. They were also facing the overwhelming financial burden that often comes with cancer treatment.

After meeting with a specialist, Alan underwent two surgeries followed by six weeks of proton therapy in Charlotte, requiring the couple to temporarily relocate three hours from home. Between housing, transportation, and missed work, expenses quickly began to add up.

Lynne applied for several support programs but was denied by many based on income level, location, diagnosis, and even medication requirements.

Through our partnership with Family Reach, Alan and Lynne received a grant to help ease the financial strain during treatment.

“This is the only support we’ve received so far, and we are so thankful for the overwhelming financial help you gave us.” — Lynne

Our 2025 Financial Aid Fund has officially closed after helping many families facing the hidden costs of cancer treatment.

Learn more about our Financial Assistance Program: https://paulatakacsfoundation.org/our-programs/financial-assistance-program/

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day from the Paula Takacs Foundation 💛

Today we celebrate all mothers and mother figures whose love, strength, and compassion shape the lives around them every single day.

We especially want to recognize the incredible mothers within our sarcoma community, those fighting alongside their children, honoring loved ones, supporting one another, and showing unimaginable courage through it all.

Wishing you all a day filled with love, comfort, and appreciation.

05/05/2026

✨ We’re proud to recognize our 5K Overall and Masters winners from the 2026 Sarcoma Stomp🏃‍♀️

Male Overall
Adam Jones – 17:48
Grant Johnson – 19:11
Brad Roberts – 20:12

Female Overall
Lauren Tamberino – 20:31
Andrea Jones – 23:44
Melissa Seuster – 24:20

Masters Division
Anthony Sanctis – 21:09
Nicole Gremillion – 25:32

Thank you to everyone who walked, ran, volunteered, and supported. Because of you, the impact continues far beyond race day.

05/04/2026

EXTRA, EXTRA — Read all about it 🗞️

✨Our May Newsletter is here, featuring updates, impact, and stories from our community:

A Message from our Executive Director, Chris Wade
Sarcoma Stomp Recap — The impact you helped make
Community Highlight — Meredith Yanes' family and friends coming together to make a difference
Survivor Resources — Featured May Session: “Nutrition Deep Dive: Protein” from The After Cancer support app
Light the Night — An upcoming event this July in honor of Sarcoma Awareness Month
PTF Sponsors — Thank you to our annual sponsors for supporting our mission

Read the full newsletter and see the difference you’re helping create: https://mailchi.mp/paulatakacsfoundation/may2026

This year’s Sarcoma Stomp was truly unforgettable. From the energy at the starting line to the powerful stories shared throughout the day, it was a beautiful reflection of the strength, connection, and heart of this community.

04/27/2026

What if cancer resistance could become the treatment?

At Duke University, a study we’re proud to fund is exploring a bold new approach to Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma (UPS)—one of the most aggressive soft tissue sarcomas.

As these tumors become resistant to chemotherapy, they also become stiffer… and surprisingly, more vulnerable to a unique form of cell death called ferroptosis.

Instead of fighting resistance, this research is working to use it against the cancer.

Why it matters:
For patients with limited options, this could open the door to an entirely new treatment pathway.

Learn more:
https://paulatakacsfoundation.org/trials-and-studies/

Your donations are making research like this possible and moving us closer to better outcomes. 💛

04/20/2026

✨Sarcoma Stomp Team Awards ✨

We are incredibly grateful for every single team that showed up, moved, and made an impact in honor of sarcoma awareness and research. We’d especially like to highlight three of our top fundraising teams who truly went above and beyond in supporting our mission so we can continue to fund critical research and make a difference.

🏆 Top Fundraising Teams
1st Place: Paula’s Peeps are Back in Towne – $30,100
2nd Place: Heather’s Heroes – $23,668
3rd Place: Annie’s Army – $17,726

👏 Rookie Team Award: Team CRVA
They brought the second largest team with 57 participants and this was only their first year participating at the Stomp. What an incredible debut!

🎉 Team Spirit Award: HNincredibles
They brought the energy all day long with tie-dye shirts, a fun tent setup, and nonstop enthusiasm that made them impossible to miss.

Every team, runner, walker, volunteer, and supporter helped make this year’s Stomp so meaningful. We are beyond grateful for this community and the impact you continue to create together for sarcoma research and awareness.

Thank you for showing up, standing out, and stomping with heart. 🎗