One Goal: Prevent Cancer

Despite living with RUNX1 familial platelet disorder (RUNX1-FPD), Tim Babich lived a happy life with his wife, Monica. After the birth of their sons, their lives changed forever when they learned that Tim’s RUNX1 mutation had been passed down to one of their boys.

This diagnosis meant that their young son was at a greatly increased risk of developing blood cancer. For Tim and Monica Babich, this was unacceptable. 

“When they found out that one of their two sons had this disease, they started doing research,” says Executive Director Dr. Katrin Ericson. “They quickly learned that there wasn’t a lot out there. There was very little research on this disease.”

With a one in two chance of developing a fatal blood cancer, those born with a RUNX1 mutation grow up knowing any day could be the day they receive devastating news. And with little to no medical research on the disease development and outcomes, families with this disease are stuck navigating life in the dark. Determined to change this for the better, Tim and Monica Babich founded the RUNX1 Research Program.

So much about the process of cancer development is still unclear. Why do only some people develop cancer? What protective factors are present in those who do not develop cancer? How can this information be utilized to help prevent cancer?

By pursuing these questions, the RUNX1 Research Program is not only contributing to a better understanding of all cancers and positively changing the lives of those born with the RUNX1 mutation, they are also paving the way for an under-researched area of cancer prevention medicine.

“If you look at the dollars being spent on cancer research, 90% of it is going towards cancer therapeutics,” says Dr. Ericson. “Instead, we’re focusing on an area of significant unmet need, one that has very few dollars and huge potential. Let’s identify the disease as early as possible, before full-blown cancer, through advanced early detection methods, and then let’s intervene. Let’s prevent it from turning into the malignant disease it will become.” 

Through their cutting-edge research, genetic testing awareness initiatives, and patient advisory committee who help guide this new era of cancer prevention science, the RUNX1 Research Program is dedicated not only to patient empowerment but population empowerment. After all, no one is living with a 0% risk of developing cancer.