Love for Olivia, A Legacy of Hope

Chance Mazzell and his wife Heather share with us the story of their daughter Olivia and the places that DIPG, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, has led them. Olivia was diagnosed with DIPG on August 28th of 2018; her journey was particularly difficult out of the gate. The Mazzells, from Lexington, South Carolina, are extremely brave to give us this insight into their lives at a most difficult time. Sadly, Olivia passed away in February of this year, before she had the chance to even try ONC201 a medication showing promise in extending the lives of some patients. Chance and Heather bring her legacy to life with their efforts to help make access to promising, experimental medication possible for others in the future. 

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About Janet


Blessed with varied interests and an artistic and musical upbringing, Janet had health challenges throughout her young adult life. Despite these she graduated Cum Laude from Wellesley College with an award of distinction for acting, and had also been a champion equestrian. She began a family with her husband Barry later in life, and had finally found happiness with daughter Sophie-Marie (3/12/06) and then baby (Jack 8/30/08). Five weeks after his birth, the family escaped a wildfire in which all worldly possessions were lost. The family relocated in December of 2008 to Agua Dulce CA where they currently reside.

Jack began to have unsettling symptoms at the age of 3; he was taken to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and was diagnosed with DIPG, or diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, on Friday Oct. 28, 2011, indisputably the darkest experience of Janet's life. The outrage of it made her determined to find the good in the situation, and she asked God to "Put me to work!" After Jack's death, she remained determined to start working to find solutions to DIPG and incorporated Jack's Angels at the end of 2012; the Foundation began its work in 2013. Despite the fact that DIPG is responsible for the majority of brain tumor deaths in children, she had been told there were no solutions for Jack because "the numbers aren't great enough for investors." This remains the primary motivation in her advocacy work, to prioritize children's lives in our medical system in the United States.