The Cancer Center at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s

We in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at The Cancer Center at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s are delighted and honored to have the support of the Michael Magro Foundation. They have truly fulfilled their mission and generously eased the burden of the patients in our care.

As a team, we strive to give our patients and their families the most comfortable and enjoyable experience possible when they come in for treatment. The Michael Magro Foundation has helped us to make this possible, in more ways than one…

In the last few months, they have donated many boxes of neutropenic friendly snacks so that our patients are able to enjoy a safe and delicious treat during long days of chemotherapy infusions. We often have patients that come in for (what they think is) a quick blood draw, that end up needing fluids or blood products. It is so nice to be able to have these things available to families who do not come prepared. These snacks not only satiate the child’s appetite, but empower them to make a choice. It’s a wonderful sight to watch the children look through the cabinets with huge smiles on their faces, and be able to choose from a variety of different snacks, in an environment where their choices are often limited.

The Michael Magro Foundation has generously contributed to many of our pediatric oncology families faced with the financial hardships of treatment, by donating gift cards. The supermarket and restaurant gift cards help our families to ensure that our patients are getting enough nutrition and hydration. The Target and Walmart gift cards have helped families prepare for a transfer to another hospital, the birth of a new baby, assist with the cost of household necessities, etc. The gas gift cards have helped families who cannot afford to bring their children to their scheduled appointments. To the family, this assistance alleviates the financial stress of commuting expenses. To the team here at Stony Brook, this means that this wonderful foundation is indirectly facilitating the utmost of care in our facility, by making sure the child is able to get to their scheduled appointments and receive their therapy on a consistent basis without the obstacles that the family would face without this aid.

The Michael Magro Foundation has played a huge role in allowing us to celebrate milestones with our patients. They have provided us with what we call “celebration in a bag”. Each bag has a theme and is filled with all the essentials to celebrate a birthday, end of treatment party or milestone.

Our patients look forward to choosing what type of party they want to have and coming in to the clinic for a personalized celebration just for them! It means so much to the families to see that we take such pride in making these occasions so special for their child. Unfortunately, for some families, this can be the last milestone they will celebrate with their child. The Michael Magro Foundation’s support helps us give these patients and their families a celebration that they will never forget.