I'm Maurice Barron, originally from Kilmacthomas in Co. Waterford. I'm a UCC grad and SVP/Lead of Data Strategy for Zenithmedia, which is part of Publicis Groupe. 

I moved to the US in 2005, married my wife Kandice in 2013, and my daughter Ava was born in March 2019 in New York. I became a US citizen in 2021. 

 

Why I'm fighting

For my daughter Ava, who turned three in March. She is the bravest little human I know. 

 

 

When she was just a year old, in April 2020,  she was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer. (malignant rhabdoid kidney tumor)

Our doctors found a massive tumor on one of her kidneys and immediately admitted her to the pediatric oncology unit. 

After additional consultations, she was transferred to Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital for surgery and treatment. She had one of her kidneys removed, 11 rounds of radiation, and eight rounds of chemotherapy. She had more blood and platelet transfusions than we can count as well as some very close moments where we didn't think she was going to make it. 

Over the next nine months, she spent countless days inpatient in the hospital, with 30+ nights in the pediatric ICU. When not in the hospital she had outpatient treatment almost every day. She somehow fought this cancer off and had her final surgery on Christmas eve 2020. 

She has been in remission since then, on a 3-month scan schedule (MRI of her brain and Abdomen and CT scan of her chest). All scans have been clear since that last surgery. We hope for her to reach the age of 4, and then the gene mutation she has that causes her cancer is much less likely to cause it to relapse. 

I'm fighting to raise money for MSK kids as well as Candelighters NYC who help the kids and families of people battling pediatric cancer