The 
Zachary 
Carson
Brain Tumor
Fund
Frequently Asked Questions

What is A Premiere Cause?
  • A Premiere Cause is the fundraising arm of The Zachary Carson Brain Tumor Fund, a charitable trust at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
  • A Premiere Cause is an event to raise money for a cure for the deadliest of all pediatric cancers, diffuse pontine gliomas.
  • A Premiere Cause has netted over $650,000 for Zach’s Fund in two years, bringing the total raised by Zach’s Fund to $850,000.
  • Steve Carell generously donated his time to join us for the Boston premieres of Get Smart (2008) and Evan Almighty (2007).  
  • A Premiere Cause was conceived after Zach Carson met Steve Carell on the set of The Office. Zach and Steve formed a special bond during that visit.

Where will the money raised at the event go?
  • All of the money raised will go to The Zachary Carson Brain Tumor Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (“Zach’s Fund”).
  • Zach’s Fund donates all of its contributions to the Children’s Brain Tumor Research Program under the auspices of Dr. Katherine Warren, which is researching diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas with the goal of developing new treatments to save kids’ lives.

What percent of the money raised will go to research?
  • 94% of the revenue generated at the 2008 event, and 98% of the revenue generated at the 2007 A Premiere Cause event went directly towards research.

Is there any hope?
  • There is always hope. Zachary lived for 27 months after diagnosis, significantly longer than most patients.  He benefited from radiation treatment which shrank the tumor to 40% of its original size, followed by clinical trial drugs, which were able to keep the tumor at bay. Unfortunately, Zach’s death was due to complications from the treatment, not the actual tumor.

Why should I help?
  • This is a unique opportunity to save kids’ lives!  Research for this deadly disease has not been widely funded, so little research is currently being conducted. Zach’s Fund will exclusively support research on diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, hopefully leading to a cure that will save other children’s lives.  Donate now.