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DANVILLE, CA – In a guest opinion published last Friday in the Pleasanton Weekly, Bhavika Taunk, a Danville mother and advocate for childhood cancer patients, shares the story of her son’s ongoing battle with leukemia and the role medical research continues to play in giving her family additional treatment options as standard therapies have failed.
Before the diagnosis, I spent four years in the United States Air Force and 32 years working in information technology. I had a career, raised a family and made plans for retirement.
Caregivers join more than 60 organizations united behind life-saving immunology research to bring new hope for cures to families facing cancer, Alzheimer’s and heart disease
Re “No on Prop. 38, an $8.4 billion wolf in sheep’s clothing” (Sept. 18): The U-T Editorial Board’s position on Proposition 38 overlooks the people most affected by the diseases this measure aims to confront. Liver cancer death rates are rising, and nearly every California family is touched by cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, Parkinson’s, diabetes or another chronic illness. Yet not a single patient voice appears in the editorial.
Nine years ago, my son started limping. He was four years old, and within weeks, doctors told me the pain in his wrists and ankles was leukemia, a high-risk form called Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I sat on a hospital bathroom floor and cried before I could even find the words to tell my husband.
Cancer Survivor and Patient Advocate: “Immunotherapies Saved My Life. Prop 38 Will Ensure that More Patients Will Be Treated and Will Find that Cure.”
Coalition says Proposition 38 is California’s opportunity to accelerate research for life-saving treatments and cures for families facing cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and more
The White House is moving to tighten political control over National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding, raising urgent concerns among scientists and patient advocates about the future of life-saving research.
I’ve spent much of my career practicing medicine outside the four walls of a clinic, riding with the CDU-KEDREN Mobile Street Medicine program through the streets of South Los Angeles, treating patients on sidewalks and in shelters, and meeting people where they actually are.
New statewide survey finds majority support for $8.4 billion immunology and immunotherapy research bond, giving California families hope for new treatments and cures
For patients facing cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, Parkinson’s, ALS and other devastating illnesses, time is not a commodity. The proven success of immunotherapies is gaining momentum just as federal funding is retreating. Patients who have benefited from successful immunotherapies are living longer and sharing their stories about the promise of ongoing medical research.
For millions of people living with multiple sclerosis, lupus and other autoimmune diseases, the search for new treatments is not an abstract scientific pursuit. It is a race to preserve the ability to walk, work, think clearly, care for their families and live independently.
Today, leading neurodegenerative disease advocacy groups added their support for YES on Proposition 38, the Immunology Medical Research & Cures Initiative. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Parkinson’s Foundation, ALS Association, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, ALS Network and Parkinson Association of Northern California are part of a broad and growing coalition of more than 50 patient advocacy, medical and research organizations that back the measure and urge Californians to vote YES on Prop 38.
There’s a moment Andrew Dale remembers with terrible clarity. He was at 140 pounds, down from 190. His hair was gone. He could barely get out of bed after months of chemotherapy. His six-year-old daughter, Zoe, came home from school.
Today, Equality California endorsed YES on Proposition 38, the Immunology Medical Research & Cures Initiative, joining leading patient advocacy organizations, civil rights groups and other LGBTQ+ organizations, including The Source LGBT+ Center and The Wall Las Memorias.
For many Californians, “immunology” may sound like a highly specialized area of science. But its potential impact is deeply personal. Immunology is the field of medical science focused on understanding the immune system and its role in treating, curing and preventing disease. Immunotherapies harness the immune system to recognize and fight diseases, and these treatments are already being used for cancers including melanoma, lung cancer and certain leukemias and lymphomas.
Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, Alzheimer’s Orange County, Alzheimer’s San Diego andAlzheimer’s Association/AIM back vital funding for medical research that will help prevent and cure devastating diseases in our lifetime
Leading civil rights organization joins growing coalition supporting breakthrough immunology medical research to help prevent and cure cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and other devastating illnesses
A potentially groundbreaking new cancer vaccine is offering the latest evidence of how immunology research can transform the future of cancer treatment, showing exactly why California needs to pass Proposition 38, the Immunology Medical Research & Cures Initiative on California’s November ballot. This measure, which is backed by leading cancer advocacy groups, will provide $8.4 billion to further scientific breakthroughs in cancer treatments, as well as treatments for Alzheimer’s, heart disease, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, ALS and other serious illnesses.
Prostate Cancer Foundation, Blood Cancer United, GO2 for Lung Cancer, Melanoma Research Alliance and other patient advocacy organizations join broad coalition supporting immunology medical research that will help prevent and cure many devastating diseases in our lifetime
Prop 38 gives hope to millions of patients and families by supporting research that will help prevent and cure many devastating diseases in our lifetime
Supporters now include The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, FasterCures, Melanoma Research Alliance, Lupus LA, and other leading patient advocacy organizations
If passed by voters, the California Immunology Research and Cures Initiative would fund research for immunotherapies to treat and prevent diseases
Measure will provide funding to advance life-saving research to prevent and cure diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease – in our lifetime
The $8.4 billion bond is backed by a host of disease advocacy groups like the Alzheimer’s Association and the Parkinson Association of Northern California.
Imagine a treatment that doesn’t just ease the tremors for a few hours, but actually slows the progression of disease. Imagine a therapy that catches Parkinson’s early and stops it in its tracks. Imagine a cure in our lifetime.
The $8.4 billion bond is meant to research cures for cancer.
Today, supporters of the California Immunology Research & Cures Initiative announced they have submitted over 900,000 signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2026 statewide ballot. This $8.4 billion bond will fund California-based nonprofit universities and research institutions to conduct immunology research to develop cutting-edge immunotherapies to prevent and cure debilitating diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease in our lifetime.
California nonprofits are working to put an initiative funding immunology research on the November ballot.
Off-the-shelf immune cells track and kill pancreatic tumors in preclinical tests
A clinical trial led by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) has demonstrated a powerful new approach to help prevent cancer from coming back after treatment for stomach cancer, cancer of the lower portion of the esophagus, and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer.
Antibody unmasks pancreatic tumors’ ‘sugar-coated’ disguise to keep them from evading immune system
American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi from Japan won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for work shedding light on how the immune system spares healthy cells, creating openings for possible new autoimmune disease and cancer treatments.
Patients with some gastrointestinal tumors were able to be treated with immunotherapy drugs alone and avoid surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, the Memorial Sloan Kettering study found.
For a limited group of cancer patients who have solid tumors in the stomach, rectum, esophagus and other organs, an immunotherapy trial offered stunning results.