Melodies Center Receives $100,000 Grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels

Funds will help provide emotional and social support to families and patients

The Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Disorders at the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center today received a $100,000 grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels to benefit the center’s Survivorship Program.

Kanya Ayyanar, MD, director of the Melodies Center, and Jessica Geaney, MD, director of the Survivorship Program, which provides families of pediatric cancer patients with social and emotional support when their child finishes treatment, accepted the grant and spoke about the impact this gift will have on their work.

“Our goal is to provide our patients with the highest quality medical care, but also to give them the necessary emotional support, to help improve health outcomes and ultimately improve the quality of life,” Dr. Ayyanar said. “This grant and support from Hyundai Hope on Wheels is invaluable, and we are deeply grateful.”

The Survivorship Program includes school re-entry guidance and help keeping kids on track with school during and after their treatments, psychological support for patients and families, information about what to expect after a child finishes cancer treatment, research at Albany Medical Center, and more.

Following the check presentation, Melodies Center patients painted their hands and pressed their handprints on a Hyundai vehicle to commemorate the event and their brave battles with cancer. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.

For 25 years, Hyundai Hope on Wheels has been on a quest to end childhood cancer and has become one of the nation’s leading funders of pediatric cancer research. This year, the organization is awarding 88 grants to institutions across the country that are focused on improving outcomes and treatments for children diagnosed with cancer.