The Life Raft Group became a formal non-profit on June 10, 2002.
Begun as a grass roots effort by a group of men and women with a deadly cancer in 2000, by the year 2002, due to the success of the breakthrough targeted treatment STI-571 (imatanib), we were ready to take on the mission of helping GIST patients to survive and thrive, while continuing to search for a cure.
Now, 15 years later, we have accomplished unprecedented achievements in our journey. They would not have been possible without the generous help of you, our donors.
The LRG Needs Your Help
We need your help more than ever to continue. Although we have achieved much, there is a great deal of work to be done. There is still no “cure” for GIST, and although we have learned a great deal about the biology of the disease, there are still mutations for which there is no targeted treatment.
Some patients still become resistant to what was once a successful treatment for them.
Can we rely on you to help us by donating now, so that we can continue the work we began 15 years ago?
From 15 dollars to 15 million, all and any donations are welcome.
15 Major Accomplishments of the Life Raft Group (out of many!)
- Forming a global community to work together to find a cure for GIST
- Establishing the largest GIST Patient Registry, now with state-of-the-art functionality
- Creating the GIST Collaborative Tissue Bank
- Implementing a model for a collaborative Research Team
- Becoming the largest funder of GIST research over the last ten years
- Collaborating with major academic institutions in the Columbia Research Project
- Placing patients in the forefront of the decision-making process for research
- Establishing the reputation of the LRG through the publication of peer-reviewed journal articles and the GIST and Sarcoma Journal
- Forming the Virtual Tumor Board to offset cutbacks for the NIH in-person clinic
- Advocating for patients and funding on a local, national and international level
- Presenting GIST Days of Learning (GDOLs) across the country
- Expanding programs globally, especially through the establishment of Alianza GIST
- Holding a biennial gathering (Life Fest) of GIST patients, caregivers and medical professionals to share the latest in GIST research and to network
- Implementing an Expert Patient Training Course to empower patients with knowledge
And most importantly,
- Granting the gift of time to a grandfather to walk his granddaughter down the aisle; two lovers to watch another sunset together on a deserted beach or a child to be able to celebrate another Mother’s Day.
We help save lives.