Nicholas Zoe Foundation leads mission born from loss to fund new breakthroughs

A landmark event uniting Cyprus and the United States in the fight against childhood cancer will take place on September 16 at Nicosia Old Town Hall, under the auspices of President Nikos Christodoulides.

Organised by the Nicholas Zoe Foundation (NZF) in collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital, the gathering will bring together philanthropists, researchers and medical pioneers.

Held under the theme ‘A Golden Effort – From Cyprus to Boston’, it draws inspiration from Gold September, the global Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Christodoulides will address the event by video message. Opening remarks will also be delivered by Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos and Petros Agathangelou, the president of the Cyprus Medical Association (CMA).

The evening will feature a keynote entitled ‘A Mother’s Journey of the Heart’ by Alexia Potamitou, president of the Nicholas Zoe Foundation.

“The foundation may have been born out of tragedy and loss, but it aspires to help fund new breakthroughs in pediatric sarcoma research. This was Nicholas’ wish, that no child fights the ‘beast,’ as he used to call his cancer,” she said, adding that “we aim to bring hope to families around the world.”

Nicholas Artemiou, in whose memory the foundation was created, passed away at the age of nine on October 23, 2023, after a three-year battle with cancer. His strength, courage, resilience, wisdom and charisma continue to inspire the foundation’s mission for a world without childhood cancer.

Boston Children’s Hospital will be represented by Dr Mark Fleming, pathologist-in-chief, who will deliver ‘Hope on the Horizon: Improving Cancer Care for Children Everywhere’.

His team has led pioneering work on liquid biopsy, a diagnostic tool using DNA from blood samples to track tumours and monitor their response to therapy.

By providing this information, treatments can be personalised, reducing side effects, and physicians can prescribe new therapies, if needed, to give children the best possible chance at a healthy future.

Philanthropic support has been central to this progress. The Nicholas Zoe Foundation has already contributed more than $200,000, with a goal of raising $500,000 to take the liquid biopsy to clinical trial stage.

“Cancer touches us all. The foundation has been a generous philanthropic partner, enabling our team to accelerate this life-changing test and bring hope to families worldwide,” Fleming said.

Further insight will be offered by Julia Burke, director of international development at Boston Children’s Hospital, who will speak on the institution’s global impact. Boston Children’s treats patients from more than 100 countries and collaborates with over 300 international outreach programmes.

Alongside the speeches, the evening will also include a silent art auction curated by art advisor Maria Paphiti, featuring works by prominent Cypriot artists, with proceeds supporting foundation’s mission.

The Nicholas Zoe Foundation, founded in memory of Nicholas Artemiou, is committed to improving the lives of children with cancer through advocacy, education and funding for breakthrough research.

Its focus is on developing advanced treatment options for Ewing sarcoma and diagnostic tools that can allow earlier detection and personalised therapies.

Boston Children’s Hospital Trust, meanwhile, promotes philanthropic investment in support of the hospital’s wider mission across patient care, research, education and community service.

It works with individuals, foundations and corporations worldwide, building long-term partnerships to sustain its work. Through this model, Boston Children’s treats children from more than 100 countries and collaborates with over 300 international outreach programmes.

From Cyprus to Boston, this international partnership is being framed as a golden effort, driven by innovation, compassion and an unrelenting belief in a brighter future for children with cancer.