Thank you for the time and for your support today. I want to share my deeply personal story with you in hopes it sparks some inspiration in you, your family and your friends. Sadly, my beautiful, kind, mom passed away on March 25th this year from Ovarian Cancer at the age of 62. Through this great loss and heartbreak I have learned how powerful the bond is between child and parent and that from this pain I was reminded of the unconditional, spectacular love that is shared between family. I know my mom would want me to help those childhood cancer survivors have a chance at having a family. My mom told me that being a mother was her greatest joy in this life and that is why I want to help others experience this joy. Now I am a mother of two children and I understand exactly what she meant. It is a dream shared by many: to have a family. But what if you are a childhood cancer survivor who, one day, also wants to have a family? The aggregate five-year cancer survival rate of more than 85% for children, adolescents and teens is leading to research that can preserve fertility, which may have been impacted by the cancer itself or the therapies to treat it, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgical procedures. While CHOC offers an array of options for pre- and post-pubescent male and female cancer patients—including egg harvesting, testicular sperm extraction, ovarian and testicular tissue cryopreservation and banking—there’s more to be done to help patients access and afford fertility preservation. Hope comes from CHOC’s Hyundai Cancer Institute, which is part of the national interdisciplinary Oncofertility Consortium exploring the relationships between health, cancer, survivorship and fertility preservation. CHOC also is the only institution on the west coast to partner with Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in research around pediatric and adolescent ovarian biology and fertility leading to the next generation of protocols for ovarian tissue banking. Oncology fertility treatment is not covered by insurance; rather, it is solely supported through philanthropy...Here's where MOMentum starts. By making a donation to my fundraising campaign, you are making a gift in any amount to help create an endowment that would provide sustainable funds for young patients to preserve their fertility and allow them to remain hopeful and create future plans in the face of cancer. Follow our page on Instagram instagram.com/momentumoc