Lianne Littell Gayler Giving Page's Fundraising Page

Thank you for visiting Lianne’s Giving Page, a place we, her father, family and friends, can reminisce, and express our gratitude to the wonderful people at Dana- Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

Dana-Farber was a bright and caring light in Lianne’s battle with Nut Midline Carcinoma, a rough disease so rare there are maybe 200 cases per year in the United States.   A call to Dana Farber late on a Saturday night, to leave a message, and to ask for guidance, led to a doctor, still at his desk, for some reason, to answer his phone.  Throughout those turbulent days that followed, Drs. Glenn Hanna, Geoff Shapiro, and Christopher French spent so many hours working to help Lianne, a patient they had never met, to pursue options and opportunities for research trials.   We do not know how much time these wonderful people missed away from their families, but we were certainly surprised by, and so grateful for the tireless work they tackle to help families like ours.

Lianne’s life, though not nearly long enough, was also certainly packed with surprises.  Before she and Darren had children of their own, Lianne was an honors graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.  How many of her friends realized that Lianne, a protector long before she became a mother, as a young law student, she doggedly pursued research into the darker corners of advertising directed toward minor children?  Based on this research, a complaint was filed with the FTC, which resulted in Congress passing the COPPA ACT, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act in 1998, that protects children under the age of 13.  It continues in force today.

There’s no denying that NUT Midline Carcinoma is a tough disease, but it is clear that Dana-Farber leads the way in NUT midline carcinoma research, translating laboratory discoveries into therapies to treat patients in the clinic in order to explore pathways to a cure. While this disease is resistant to much therapy, there is hope.  We know their teams are working to change this by studying the biology of this disease, by building laboratory models, using patient tumors, and testing new drugs, both in the lab and for the women, men and children they treat in the clinic. Dana-Farber offers one of the largest and most active clinical trial programs in the country for individuals facing a NUT Carcinoma diagnosis. Many patients with NUT Carcinoma enroll in Dana-Farber’s cutting edge clinical trials, which provide a source of hope, after they have exhausted standard treatments.

What is more important than knowing you are not alone, knowing someone has your back?   Lianne practiced this in multiple exemplary ways every day of her life to family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances.   So many, and we thank God for the Dana-Farber clinicians who do this for us.

Thank you for visiting Lianne’s Giving Page. Any gifts to support Dana-Farber’s mission to conquer NUT Carcinoma accelerates their innovative research being done every day at Dana-Farber, to enabling and accelerating their work to find a cure for NUT Carcinoma. And to enable a grateful family a bit of comfort and solace. 

R. Phil Littell, Ph.D.  (Lianne’s Dad)