Chicago-Based Charity to Make Donation for SIU Pediatric Oncology Patients

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation will make a presentation to SIU School of Medicine next Monday, which includes a treasure chest full of toys, for young patients undergoing chemotherapy and related cancer treatment. The ten-year-old organization, which now serves children in five states, will make the presentation at 9:30 a.m. Monday, October 13, at the SIU Cancer Institute, located on the first floor of the Carol Jo Vecchie Building at St. John's Hospital.

Making the presentation will be Colleen Kisel, the executive director and founder of the foundation, as well as a representative of one of their large sponsors, the Ford Motor Stamping Plant of Ford Heights, IL., as this site is being opened in their honor. Dr. Gregory Brandt, director of pediatric hematology/oncology and assistant professor of pediatrics at SIU, as well as several children he currently is treating also will be present.

The foundation was founded in 1996, three years after Martin Kisel was diagnosed with cancer. As he went through treatment, Colleen found that providing her son with a small toy after each procedure provided a calming distraction. The foundation provides age appropriate toys, gifts and gift certificates for every patient, with the smaller toys stored in a treasure chest. The group provides toys to 18 other pediatric oncology centers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania. (www.treasurechest.org )

For more information, contact Nancy Zimmers, SIU Public Affairs, 217-545-3854.