On April 1, 2011, it was official: 2 ½-year-old Malia Dakota Jusczyk's carefree life of Disney World and pony rides, soccer practice and swimming pools, came to a grinding halt. A CT scan revealed that Malia's recent "tummy aches" were caused by a large tumor lodged in her abdomen. The solid mass wrapped around major blood vessels and pushed against her kidney and aorta.

A biopsy confirmed that Malia has a very aggressive childhood cancer known as stage IV (high risk) neuroblastoma. The cancer had metastasized into her bones and bone marrow (cranium, humerus, and femur). Immediately after the debilitating diagnosis, Malia's parents, Megan and Glen, left Orlando, Florida in order to provide their daughter with the best treatment currently available to her at the Children's Hospital/Dana-Farber Jimmy Fund Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts.

To survive, Malia's little body has had to endure 6 rounds of chemo, 9 hours of tumor resection surgery, a stem cell transplant, removal of a kidney, 12 rounds of proton radiation, and countless blood transfusions. Although her remaining kidney is very weak, we hope she'll be able to finish immunotherapy in June, 2012.

According to the Neuroblastoma Children's Cancer Society, "For families affected by neuroblastoma, the medical costs alone typically exceed $500,000. With many costs not covered by health insurance, this experience can devastate a family financially." Please consider making a donation to help beautiful Malia crush cancer:

Malia's known for her unbelievable strength and will power, and with everyone's love and support, we're sure she'll pull through!

Fundraising Events


Calendar
 
NowBumper Stickers and Wristbands
NowCancer Sucks T-Shirts
NowSilpada Raffle for Malia
NowStrawberry Patch Jewelry for Malia
NowHappitude for Malia
May 5 - May 19Lia Sophia Jewelry for Malia
Aug. 12Triathlon to Crush Cancer REGISTER NOW!
Sep. 9Justin O'Connell to Run Chicago Half Marathon
 
See past events...

Bumper Stickers and Wristbands

We now have MaliaCrushesCancer.com magnetic bumper stickers and wristbands. If you'd like some, please make a donation, then e-mail us with your address and the quantity you wish to receive, and we'd be happy to mail them to you.

Cancer Sucks T-Shirts

For every donation of $10 or more, we'll send you a Cancer Sucks T-shirt with this awesome logo designed by Maggie Sheppard. When you go to make the donation, click on the "send a message to the seller" link and specify the size. For donations of $20 or more, we can send you two T-shirts, and so on... Donate to help Malia crush cancer, then wear your T-shirt to help spread the word!

If you forgot to specify your T-shirt size when you donated or for any other reason haven't received your T-shirt, please e-mail Glen with your size and we'll send you one right away.

Silpada Raffle for Malia

Right now, Sandra Spencer is holding an exciting Silpada jewelry raffle! The winner will receive $1,000 in Silpada jewelry, and the Jusczyk family will also receive $1,000 to go toward Malia's treatment. There will only be 100 tickets sold and tickets will be $20 each. That's a 1 in 100 chance at $1,000... pretty good odds! If you'd like to purchase a ticket, first e-mail Sandra to make sure there are still tickets left and to reserve one for yourself. Then you can buy the ticket by clicking Donate above and putting "Silpada raffle" in the memo line.

If you're not one to take chances but would still like to help, feel free to browse Sandra's Silpada store. She will be donating all of her profits to Malia. When ordering online, you will be asked if you would like to join/associate/link your order with an existing order – please choose "malia crushes cancer" as a hostess. Makes great gifts for Mother's Day and graduations!

Strawberry Patch Jewelry for Malia

Megan's friend Kristina had two bracelets designed for Malia – one adult-sized and one child-sized. These beautiful bracelets are available for purchase at Strawberry Patch Jewelry, and $10.00 of each sale will be donated to Malia. Buy one and show your support for Malia while helping her fight cancer.


Happitude for Malia

Happitude celebrates our connection to family and friends and the places that bring us together. So, put "Malia" in the notes section of your order and 50% of the profits will come back to her. Buy a hat with your happy place at happitude.com, and you'll bring it (and Malia!) with you wherever you go.


Lia Sophia Jewelry for Malia

This May 5 to May 19, Patty Berger will be holding a Lia Sophia jewelry fundraiser for Malia. For every order, 15% of the price (50% of the commission) will be donated to Malia's cause. Lia Sophia is also offering a great special this month: buy 2 items and get up to 4 higher priced items at 50% off!

To participate:

  • Visit http://www.liasophia.com/kerrifata.
  • Click on "Browse Our Jewelry"
  • Enter the hostess's name (Patty Berger) in the pop-up window.
  • Choose to browse the entire catalog or select a specific category.
  • Buy jewelry and help Malia crush cancer!

Triathlon to Crush Cancer

Sunday, August 12, 2012
North Attleboro, MA

The first annual Triathlon to Crush Cancer will be coming up this August 12. Visit our new triathlon page to learn more, or register here:

Note: The actual date of the triathlon is Sunday, August 12, 2012. Sorry for any confusion.

Chicago Half Marathon for Malia

On September 9, 2012, Justin O'Connell will be running the scenic 13.1-mile Chicago Half Marathon to raise funds for Malia. Donate to his run to help him raise money for a great cause!




Follow Malia
Malia in the Media
More Neuroblastoma Info
Friends of Malia