Tulsa's St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway

Monday, August 14th 2006, 12:52 pm

By: News On 6

Children with a once-lethal type of blood cancer now have a 90 percent chance of survival. Children with that same disease had only a 4 percent chance of survival in 1962. It's ALL or Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has played a leading role in treating and curing those children. Now they need your help. News on 6 reporter Jennifer Loren has details on Tulsa's first ever St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway and how you can get involved.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is located in Memphis Tennessee, but since it opened in 1962 doctors there have treated children from all 50 states and 70 foreign countries, children with catastrophic diseases like cancer.

Right now, at St. Jude, doctors are treating several children from Oklahoma. Michael Hamilton is from the Grand Lake area. His 3-year old daughter Valeria has neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer within her nervous tissue." Itâ€™s been a hard year, going through this. But I think we're in a good place."

One year ago doctors told him Valeria had just a 30 percent chance of survival. Today, he sees improvement. "I know that the tumors are vanishing, you know, dissolving or whatever. You know there's a good chance that she could make it."

St. Jude doctors are treating Valeria for free. In fact, all families without insurance are never asked to pay a dime.

Itâ€™s all in an effort to -not just treat patients- but do the research to find cures at the same time. That does take a lot of money and it all comes from people like you, public donations.

The Dream Home giveaway is one of the hospitals major fundraisers. This year is Tulsa's first and will be the biggest home they've ever given away. The 3,700 square foot home is located near 111th and Memorial and is worth $400,000. It will be finished next month. But you can buy a ticket for a chance to win it right now.

No matter who wins the dream home, the children at St. Jude are the ones who really win. Tickets for your chance to win the dream home are $100.

You can also buy your ticket at any Hancock's Fabric store or IBC Bank. Or you can click on the www.stjude.org.