Pediatric Oncofertility Research Foundation (PORF)

Tim and Suzanne Brown founded the Pediatric Oncofertility Research Foundation (PORF) in 2015 to support research in the field of fertility preservation for children treated for cancer.  The primary goal of the foundation is to allow the choice of future fertility to every child with cancer. The field of Oncofertility is relatively young.  However, great strides have been made, especially with adult women who have been treated for some form of cancer.  Younger still is the field of pediatric Oncofertility research.  Young children diagnosed with cancer ten years ago had no option to the debilitating fertility side effects of some types of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  Thanks to the miracles of medical research, substantive hope exists for virtually all children treated for cancer. Hope does not equate to reality.  To date, only children who are enrolled in a research study have the option of fertility preservation.  To move this process from research to standard of care is the immediate intent of PORF. To that end, the PORF Website has been designed specifically for parents of children who have been diagnosed with cancer.  As the grandparents of a young child diagnosed with cancer at age 3 ½, Tim and Suzanne have witnessed the emotional trauma that comes from this diagnosis.  Further, they have walked with their daughter and son-in-law through the process of choosing to have their child’s fertility preserved.  To make plans for the future, when the present is so stressful, is a difficult thing to ask of parents.  The purpose of PORF website is to support parents in the fertility preservation process. The second major purpose of PORF is to encourage continued research in the area of pediatric Oncofertility. PORF is a 501(c)(3) public charity.  Every dollar donated will go directly to pediatric Oncofertility research.  All administrative costs, including the costs of building and maintaining the website will be covered by the Brown family.