Tanksley Family

FROM SURVIVORS TO SUPPORTERS

GRATEFUL PATIENT FAMILY FUNDS PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH

An initial pledge in 2009 to help fund the Developmental Therapeutics Program at Levine Children’s marked the beginning of the Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation's long history of driving pediatric cancer research in our region. For Mike and Sharon Tanksley, the cause is personal. Their son, Adam, was diagnosed with Stage IV Anaplastic Wilms’ Tumor, a rare childhood kidney cancer with a 20% chance for survival, when he was only three years old.

Adam, now 17 years old and a recent high school graduate, remains cancer free and is grateful to his care team at Levine Children’s Hospital for saving his life. To demonstrate their appreciation, Adam and his loved ones recently presented a check for $100,000 to Atrium Health Foundation—a gift that will help connect children with rare forms of pediatric cancer to clinical trials of the latest, most promising treatments at Levine Children’s Hospital.

From left: Cancer survivor Adam Faulk Tanksley then (2009) and now (2021).

WE WERE THREE DOCTORS; NOW WE'RE 14. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY SORT OF PHASE I TRIALS, AND NOW WE ARE THE PHASE I CENTER FOR CHARLOTTE. WE OFFER TRANSPLANTS, HIGHDOSE MIBG THERAPY, AND EVERY TRIAL THAT'S AVAILABLE IN THIS COUNTRY. THE ADAM FAULK TANKSLEY

FOUNDATION IS REALLY WHERE ALL THIS STARTED. ”

– DR. JAVIER OESTERHELD

JEFF GORDON CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION ENDOWED CHAIR – PEDIATRIC CANCER AND BLOOD DISORDERS; SPECIALTY MEDICAL DIRECTOR - PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGY/ONCOLOGY/BMT