Six-year-old Mason Moore spent the last stretch of his short life fighting a brain tumor that a five-hour surgery, six weeks of proton radiation, and five months of high-dose chemotherapy could not stop. He died in November 2023. Nearly three years later, his family and the Raleigh community are gathering again to make sure his fight funds someone else's cure.
Art for Hope returns to The Maxwell in Raleigh on October 1, running from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to CBS 17. The evening pairs a silent auction and raffle with food and drinks, and it benefits two organizations dedicated to pediatric brain cancer research: The Cure Starts Now and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Last year's event raised more than $75,000, the station reports.
Mason was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in his cerebellum, a diagnosis that set off a grueling treatment regimen detailed in materials from The Cure Starts Now. He is remembered by CBS 17 as a six-year-old who fought childhood brain cancer, and his father, Richard Moore, said Art for Hope helps the family give back to others and gives them a sense of purpose. His mother, Jamie Moore, said Mason continuously inspires the family.
A Disease That Disproportionately Strikes Children
Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor found in children, making up roughly 20% of all childhood brain tumor diagnoses, with approximately 435 patients diagnosed each year, more than 70% of them pediatric, per Medulloblastoma.org. Brain tumors overall account for about 25% of pediatric cancer diagnoses and remain the leading cause of cancer-related death among children under 15 nationwide, the same source notes.
Despite that toll, less than 6% of federal cancer research funding in the United States goes toward pediatric cancers, with an even smaller share directed specifically at pediatric brain tumors, according to figures cited by The Cure Starts Now's sponsor materials. That funding gap is part of why grassroots events like Art for Hope matter to families pushing for faster progress on treatments that have lagged behind advances seen in other childhood cancers.
The Cure Starts Now has funded pediatric cancer research since 2007. The foundation has since grown into dozens of chapters worldwide that have funded tens of millions of dollars in pediatric cancer research.
What to Expect at The Maxwell
This year's gathering takes place at The Maxwell. Beyond the silent auction, raffle, food, and drinks, organizers provide contact information for event inquiries.
For a family that spent five months watching high-dose chemotherapy fail their son, the October gathering is less a fundraiser than a continuation of Mason's fight — one silent-auction bid and raffle ticket at a time.
