Annual plan objectives

In 2026, we as a Foundation also would like to make a meaningful financial contribution to the mission of the Princess Máxima Center: to cure every child with cancer, with optimal quality of life. In line with the Máxima’s multi-year strategy, we have written an annual plan for this purpose.

Our key focus areas

For the children in the Máxima, the use of innovative treatments and the pursuit of optimal quality of life are crucial. By continuously improving in these areas, we can continue to give more children with cancer a future. This is not possible without your support, because these activities cannot (yet) be paid for from the regular healthcare budget. Precisely the reason why we as a Foundation will commit to this in the coming years. The focus is on finding funding for the following areas of attention:

Neuro-oncology

The survival rate of children with a brain tumor is alarmingly low. And children who survive often suffer lifelong side effects due to damage to the brain. The treatments are very intensive. That is why research into new treatment methods for children with a brain tumor is urgently needed.

Cellular Immunotherapy

There are forms of cancer against which we have to deploy heavy artillery. Fellow pediatric oncologist Friso Calkoen says: “Long-term side effects of chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant can be substantial. And even then it does not always work. That is why we developed the so-called CAR T-cell therapy. This treatment truly adds something to the existing forms of therapy and is promising, but it still does not work for every child.” To achieve that, much more research is truly needed.

Talent Development Program

The Princess Máxima Center is the ideal environment to train talents in pediatric oncology into experts in the field. They work with us as both researcher and healthcare professional, because we believe knowledge of both areas is crucial and contributes to better care. That is why the Center has a talent development program. We attract talent from within the Netherlands and abroad who are or will become pediatric oncologists and who at the same time excel in research. Essential in order to train the clinical leaders of the future.

Quality of Life

For our children, it is of course important first and foremost that they can survive cancer, but it is at least as important that they recover while maintaining optimal quality of life. Unfortunately, that is still not the case for many children, and they have to live with sometimes serious consequences of treatment. Think of infertility, mental health, or organ failure. We would very much like to improve that.

Internationalization

We do not search for better treatments for childhood cancer only in Utrecht. This is something that concerns researchers worldwide. And that is a good thing, because only together can we achieve improvements even faster. Worldwide, more than 400,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Will you help us strengthen our global network so that we can discover new treatments faster?

What you can do

Funding is needed for these focus areas. Would you like to support us or do you have questions about how you can make a difference? Please feel free to contact us via phone number +31 (0)88 972 87 51. Or send an email to the Foundation.

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