changes we saw in our children. Though the medical care we received was excellent, each of our families felt alone as we searched for answers to many important questions. We needed a place to share information about blood counts and central line care, nutrition during treatment, and the emotional impact of this illness on the other members of our families. We wondered what kind of lives our children could hope for after treatment, what long-term neurological side effects we could expect as they matured, and how we could best deal with those effects. Unfortunately, answers were frequently hard to find and we could identify no central source for the information we needed. We decided to launch this support network.”

We Can has grown from a small group of parents sponsored by a single hospital, to an independent organization that serves the patients and families of medical centers throughout California. We Can is a project of Community Partners, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping community service endeavors in the greater Los Angeles area.

Read an ABC News story about We Can co-founder Kathy Riley and her son Peter, a long-term brain tumor survivor.

Advisory Board

•Charlie Barnes, MBA, Treasurer, parent of survivor

•Michael Barraza, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist

•Bette Billet, RN, Clinical Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Oncology, retired

1. •  Lauri Deason, screenwriter
   

2. •  Thomas Deason, film producer, Board Chair
   

•Colleen Gates, graphic artist, parent of survivor

•Steven Gates, DMA, music professor, parent of survivor

•Michelle Goldstein, parent of survivor

1. •  Sharon Grandinette, MEd, Special Education, Acquired Brain Injury Specialist
   

2. •  Michael Kornbluth, CPA, business owner
   

•Gigi McMillan, national brain tumor consultant, Co-Founder, Past Executive Director

•Mary Nelson, RN, Clinical Nurse Practitioner

•Kathy Riley, Executive Director, Co-Founder

•Chris Riley, screenwriter, film professor, parent of survivor

•Sidney Showers, MD, Pediatrician

 

Medical Advisory Board

•Barbara Britt, RN, MSN, Nurse Care Manager for the Neural Tumors Program, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

•Moises Danielpour, MD, Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

•Jonathan Finlay, MB, ChB, Director, Neural Tumors Program, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

•Mark Krieger, MD, Division of Neurosurgery, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

•Joseph Laskey, MD, Clinical Director of Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA

•Jorge Lazareff, MD, Division of Neurosurgery, Mattel Children’s Hospital, UCLA Medical Center

•Kathy Meeske, PhD, RN, Late Effects Specialist with Pediatric Oncology, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

•Ted Moore, MD, Director, Hematology-Oncology, Mattel Children’s Hospital, UCLA Medical Center

•Margaret Stuber, MD, Pediatric Psychiatry, Mattel Children’s Hospital, UCLA Medical Center

•Karla Wilson, RN MSN FNP CPON, Nurse Practitioner, Department of Pediatrics, City of Hope National Medical Center

Our History

We Can was formed in 1996 by Gigi McMillan and Kathy Riley, two mothers whose children were in treatment for brain tumors. In an open letter to the community announcing the first meeting of the group, they wrote:

“... As you probably did, we staggered through the trauma of diagnosis and treatment and struggled to cope with the