One Goal: Prevent Cancer

Before 2009, Tim and Monica Babich were living in denial about Tim’s RUNX1 familial platelet disorder (RUNX1-FPD). After Tim’s aunt passed away from complications due to her RUNX1-related cancer, it became apparent that one of their sons carried the mutation, too. They realized denial wasn’t going to work.

“When they found out that one of their two sons had this disease, and had a greater risk of developing blood cancer, they started doing more research,” says Executive Director Dr. Katrin Ericson. “They quickly learned there wasn’t a lot out there. There was very little research on this disease.”

With a one in two chance of developing a fatal blood cancer, those born with a RUNX1 mutation grow up knowing any day could be the day they receive devastating news. And with little to no medical research on the disease development and outcomes, families with this disease are stuck navigating life in the dark. Determined to change this for the better, Tim and Monica Babich founded the RUNX1 Research Program.

So much about the process of cancer development is still unclear. Why do only some people develop cancer? What protective factors are present in those who do not develop cancer? How can this information be utilized to help prevent cancer?

By pursuing these questions, the RUNX1 Research Program is not only contributing to a better understanding of all cancers and positively changing the lives of those born with the RUNX1 mutation, but they are also paving the way for an under-researched area of cancer-prevention medicine.

“If you look at the dollars being spent on cancer research, 90% of it is going towards cancer therapeutics,” says Dr. Ericson. “Instead, we’re focusing on an area of significant unmet need – one with very few dollars ascribed to it and yet huge potential. Let’s identify the disease as early as possible, before full-blown cancer, through advanced early-detection methods, and then let’s intervene. Let’s prevent it from turning into malignant disease.”

Through cutting-edge research, genetic testing awareness initiatives, and an active patient advisory committee helping to guide this new era of cancer-prevention science, the RUNX1 Research Program is dedicated to patient empowerment and population empowerment. After all, every one of us lives with a risk of developing cancer.