Pierce Phillips was a "happy, healthy kid," recalled his parents, Scott and Brandi Phillips.
"His birthday was yesterday," Brandi said as she sat next to Scott in their living room a few days ago. Hudson, who's 9 months old, was asleep in another room.
Pierce would've been 6 on Tuesday.
At 13 months old, bright blue-eyed Pierce started running a fever that wouldn't go away. An ear infection was ruled out. Eventually, blood work came back abnormal, and a CT scan was ordered. It was a mass above his kidney - neuroblastoma, an especially deadly form of cancer.
He fought for more than half his life, Brandi said. By February 2009, having taken Pierce to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York the previous summer, he had undergone five rounds of high-dose chemotherapy, 14 rounds of radiation, three cycles of Accutane and surgery to remove the tumor.
By July 2009, he was sick again. The Phillips' worst nightmare, confirmed. The doctors couldn't help, so they took him home, took family photos and spent every second they could with him.
On Oct. 9, 2009, Pierce passed away, "peaceful," Brandi said.
"We don't ever want a family to go through what we did, to experience the loss and hear, 'There's nothing we can do,' " she said.
That's why she and Scott founded the Pierce Phillips Charity, which has helped fund four phase-1 clinical trials currently being conducted at various cancer research centers throughout the country. It's also supported Tulsa families whose children are battling this disease.
To help continue its mission of helping kids like Pierce and their families, the charity will host a golf-and-gala event Sept. 20 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, 777 W. Cherokee St. in Catoosa.
All of the proceeds raised from the charity go directly to cutting-edge research, implementing real therapies for the deadliest forms of childhood cancer.
Clinical trials are the first step in getting the newest and most treatment options to kids with cancer, Brandi said.
"We want to do the most good in the quickest way possible, and clinical trials are the best way to make that happen," she said.
The Phillipses stressed the need for more research, as 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer will die - 4,000 each year, 11 every day. Childhood cancer occurs regularly, randomly and spares no ethnic group or socioeconomic class.
"Unless you're financially well off, it'll wipe you out," Scott said. He and Brandi were fortunate to have a friend in New York while Pierce was at Sloan-Kettering.
Their charity has partnered with Solving Kids Cancer and the National Cancer Institute in an innovative clinical research project for children with neuroblastoma, according to information from the charity. This experimental treatment will use children's own immune blood cells - specifically, T-cells - that are taken out, genetically re-engineered in the lab, grown, multiplied and then transfused back to the patient as a trained tumor-cell-killing army.
The technology, adoptive cell therapy (ACT), has shown significant early promise in some adult cancers. Called ACT FAST, the program is the first use of transiently modified T-cells as a cancer therapy for children with neuroblastoma. The trial is expected to open this summer with the hope of proving clinical benefit in 12 patients.
It's the Phillipses' hope that ACT FAST will help kids battling today, as well as those yet to be diagnosed, and expand to more cancer centers throughout the country.
"It makes us feel like we are still fighting for him," Brandi said. In the past three years, the charity has raised about $500,000 - no overhead to worry about, all volunteer.
Hopefully, Scott added, the need for their charity won't be around that long.
"Hopefully," he said, "there's a cure."
For more, visit
tulsaworld.com/piercephillips
Art Tasting
This annual open house for Pinot's Palette's Cherry Street studio has been fashioned into a fundraiser, during which guests can enjoy wine, food, silent and live auctions, and, of course, painting. You can also purchase studio copies of artists' paintings for $25 each.
Proceeds benefit The Little Lighthouse and the Pierce Phillips Charity.
Event details: 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, Pinot's Palette, 1621 E. 15th St.
Sponsors: Ludger's, My Fit Foods, Ernest & Julio Gallo, Glazer's, Paragon Brands, Blick
Tickets: $25
For more: 918-794-7333,
tulsaworld.com/pinotspalette
Drag Queen Bingo
Billed as "bingo like your mother never played," this ninth-annual fundraiser features entertainment by female impersonators and awesome prizes for several rousing rounds of bingo.
Proceeds benefit Our House Too, the mission of which is to eliminate the social isolation of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Tulsa area. It also offers food baskets, a toiletry and household pantry, and weekly lunches.
Event details: Saturday, Aug. 24 - 7 p.m. doors open, 7:30-10 p.m. event - Hyatt Regency Tulsa, 100 E. Second St.
Sponsors: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Brady Arts District Business Association
Tickets: $30 individual, $350 table (by Aug. 20,
tulsaworld.com/ourhousetoo)
For more: 918-688-2144,
dqb@ourhousetoo.com
Cuts for Kids
For the fifth year, Clary Sage and Oklahoma Technical colleges will offer free haircuts to anyone age 18 or younger. No appointments are necessary.
Event details: 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 7-8, Clary Sage, 3131 S. Sheridan Road; 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 14-15, Oklahoma Technical, 4444 S. Sheridan Road
For more: 918-610-0027,
tulsaworld.com/clarysage
Rhinestones and Wranglers
Presented by Pierce Phillips Charity, this golf-and-gala event starts with a four-man scramble in the morning, followed by a fabulous evening with more than 70 silent auction items and a fun handful of live auction items presided over by auctioneer Rick Miller. Biddable treats include a guitar signed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Masters flags autographed by Phil Mickelson, wine tasting for 10 at Beyond the Label and a beer tasting for 10 at McNellie's. Other highlights include live entertainment by Mary Cogan.
Proceeds help fund childhood cancer research and provide financial support for local pediatric cancer patients and families.
Event details: Friday, Sept. 20 - 8 a.m. golf, 7 p.m. gala - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa
Sponsors: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Bama Cos., Key Personnel, Grant Thornton, US Payments, Beowulf Construction, Fuel Managers, Memorial Mechanic, Chris Mastin Oral Surgery, QEP Energy Co., The Steel Horse.
Tickets: $100 gala; $200 golf, goodie bag, gala; sponsorships $350-$9,750 (
tulsaworld.com/piercephillips)
Jason Ashley Wright 918-581-8483
jason.wright@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Fighting for a cure
People & Places
Any evening that starts with a red carpet and Spartan soldiers forming a sword-drawn canopy over your head deserves writing about.
Come December, Shannon West will be a college graduate.
