Page 65 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2024

GIVING BACK
SOSO STRONG PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR FOUNDATION
story by Cherie Ward photos courtesy of SoSo Strong Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation The message is simple:
Kids Should Live!
And because children cannot fight cancer alone, the SoSo Strong Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation was born to help provide vigorous research and one day create a powerful cure for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a deadly, aggressive pediatric brain cancer.
In October 2017, seven-year-old Sophia Ann Myers of Ocean Springs lost her battle with DIPG. This talented dancer and soccer star, who was affectionally known as SoSo, loved to sing and tell jokes. The young girl scout was the perfect mix of a sassy girlie girl with a tomboy’s soul and spent many afternoons catching fish in her favorite princess dress.
She should be 15 now, thinking about navigating high school, learning to drive, and maybe smiling at a boy or two. But this disease that takes most children less than two years after their initial diagnosis had other plans.
After Sophia’s passing, her parents Angel Myers McIlrath and Josh Myers created the foundation in their
daughter’s honor with the mission to find a cure for and the cause of DIPG. Since its installation in 2018, SoSo Strong has raised more than
a million dollars while spreading awareness about pediatric brain tumors with education and also improving the lives of patients and their families.
There is currently no known cure for DIPG, but with the dedication of SoSo Strong and other organizations, a cure is on the horizon. Many experts believe finding a DIPG cure is the key
to curing many other cancerous diseases thus making all cancer patients SoSo Strong.
SoSo Strong Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
P.O. Box 632, Ocean Springs 228.327.3133 | www.sosostrongpbtf.org
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net
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