Throughout Austen Prescott’s cancer journey, his parents, Catherine and Andrew Prescott, asked family and friends to pray for their son at 6:20 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. each day, alluding to Austen’s June 20 birthday.
When it became clear that his young life would be cut short at age 18 because of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an extremely rare and highly aggressive brain tumor, the Miami family established a research fund to honor their son’s legacy.
Team 620 quickly became the most successful University of Miami ’CaneFunder on record, raising $86,928 in just nine days to support DIPG/DMG research at Sylvester. Confident that a cure is within reach, the Prescotts donated Austen’s tumor to Sylvester scientists. World-renowned Sylvester pediatric neuro-oncologists Antonio Iavarone, M.D., and Anna Lasorella, M.D., experts in glioblastoma and other aggressive brain tumors, are leading that research. They have been able to use the tumor tissue to replicate cancer cells and conduct drug screenings.
“Being able to study Austen’s tumor is a crucial step in moving potential treatments forward,” said Dr. Iavarone, deputy director of Sylvester and professor of neurological surgery and biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School. “By comparing the tumor from his biopsy to the tumor after it became resistant to treatment, we can get a better understanding of how tumors evolve.”
The Prescotts say they have faith in the neuro- oncology team at Sylvester. They’ve witnessed the strides these physician-researchers are making toward finding a cure for gliomas that have a median survival rate of nine to 11 months and impact 300 to 400 children each year in the United States.
“If somebody is diagnosed with DIPG and they live in South Florida, there is nowhere else to go,” said Andrew. “You want to be with the people who know more about it than anyone else and have seen more cases than anyone else in town, and that would certainly be Sylvester.”
Generous donations from Team 620, which was established with an initial gift of $50,000, fuel Sylvester’s work. Andrew and Catherine presented an additional gift of $10,000 on Give Miami Day last November, which was matched by a gift of $15,000.
“We cannot be more grateful to this family,” said Dr. Lasorella, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School. “When they were facing such a difficult time, the loss of their son, they chose to help other children and families by donating his brain tissue. Their selflessness is immeasurable.”
The family believes Austen would not have wanted it any other way. “Even in his lowest moments, Austen found empathy for others,” said Catherine. “He often expressed how badly he felt for kids younger than him who had to endure the same disease. Austen always wanted them to have hope. Our hope is that through Team 620’s support, Sylvester’s incredible scientists will find effective treatments and, one day, a cure for these devastating brain tumors.”
