Jack

Jack’s story  

In January 2005, Jack Brown developed a limp and after spending over three weeks in Barnet General and Great Ormond Street Hospitals was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma. 

He began chemotherapy two months later, which did not have any effect, but he responded well to radioactive MIBG therapy and the treatment successfully removed most of Jack’s cancer except for the disease in his skull. 

One year after his diagnosis, Jack had brain surgery to remove the tumour, high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Tests indicated that the high-dose chemotherapy had removed all residual disease from Jack’s skull and he was eligible to travel abroad for further treatment.

In April 2006, Jack began receiving daily injections of the immune system boosting GM-CSF drug before going to New York for monoclonal antibody treatment. At the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Jack received the 3F8 antibody treatment followed by radiotherapy. Despite ongoing treatment, doctors discovered that Jack had relapsed with neuroblastoma in his brain. 

In December 2006, Jack had further brain surgery followed by chemotherapy and targeted radiotherapy, followed in swift succession by more brain surgery. Despite receiving further antibody treatment in March 2007, bone samples found the presence of neuroblastoma cells, although one month later his bone marrow was clear once again. 

In October 2007, scan results showed brave Jack had relapsed in both legs, his knees, thighs, pelvis, hip and right shoulder. In the following months, the cancer also returned to Jack’s femur and bone marrow. In January 2008, he travelled to Vermont for a treatment which had the potential to make the cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy. With cycles of chemotherapy continuing over the following few months, tests suggested once more that Jack had been cleared of neuroblastoma everywhere except his femur. He received radiation treatment directly to his femur to address this residual disease. 

In September 2008, Jack returned to the UK where his oncology team worked with his US prescribed medications until he returned to New York for further antibody treatment at MSKCC. All scans and tests continued to remain clear and Jack was finally termed NED (no evidence of disease). 

In November 2008, Jack was hospitalised with a severe urinary tract infection. The underlying cause was the BK Virus, which occurs in those with suppressed immune systems. However, it was later discovered that Jack had relapsed in multiple areas – leg, pelvis, spine, shoulders, arms, and jaw. 

After first deciding that Jack would remain in the UK and receive palliative care, he soon returned to Vermont to pursue further chemotherapy treatment.  

Despite giving Jack all the treatment possible, the neuroblastoma continued to progress. Brave Jack passed away in Vermont on 3rd May 2009 surrounded by his family.  

Jack's legacy

Solving Kids' Cancer UK (then the 2Simple Trust) was established as a neuroblastoma charity in 2006 in support of Jack and his parents, Richard and Yvonne Brown, when they had sought to fundraise to access treatment abroad for Jack. 

After Jack passed away, Yvonne and Richard set up their own charity called Joining Against Cancer in Kids (J-A-C-K) to continue Jack's legacy through funding neuroblastoma research. J-A-C-K and Solving Kids' Cancer UK have partnered on multiple research projects, as well as on the Emergency Fund that we co-launched during COVID-19 to provide financial support to families affected by neuroblastoma and a travel fund to support travel and accommodation costs for families travelling for treatment. 

In 2018 J-A-C-K joined our international grant call which funded the landmark TITAN study. This Phase III trial is looking at a targeted therapy for children with a specific genetic feature in their cancer known as ALK. It is the first joint trial between the research networks, SIOPEN and COG, which means children will be enrolled on a study simultaneously in Europe and North America for the first ever time. 

J-A-C-K has also partnered on our two most recent projects that were funded through our 2019 grant call- Solving Indolent Neuroblastoma, and Optimizing Immunotherapy for Refractory Neuroblastoma. Both of these projects focus exclusively on refractory neuroblastoma, where disease is highly resistant to treatment. Through the combined outcomes of these projects, we hope to be able to identify this type of disease more easily at diagnosis and be able to treat it more effectively when it occurs. Find out more about these projects continuing Jack's legacy through the links below. 

Jack and his family continue to inspire Solving Kids' Cancer UK's work and we feel privileged to work together for the benefit of children and families affected by neuroblastoma.

The research projects continuing Jack's legacy

_{Donations made in loving memory of children} 

_{Funds raised in loving memory of Jack will be used to support other children like Jack and their families through Solving Kids' Cancer UK's activities.}