WADO-AM In NYC Fights Childhood Cancer.

Univision Radio’s Radio WADO 1280 AM and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, one of the world’s premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases in children, celebrate their fourth annual Promesa y Esperanza (Promise and Hope) radiothon. WADO 1280 AM will broadcast the event Thursday and Friday, February 10 and 11 from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. live from Radio WADO headquarters. The purpose of the radiothon is to raise money to help children suffering from cancer, sickle cell disease, pediatric AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. In the last three years, WADO 1280 AM has raised more than $2 million in pledges thanks to its generous listeners.

This year for the first time, Radio WADO 1280 AM will air the Promesa y Esperanza radiothon live during Univision Radio’s AM network programming, which is broadcast in more than 15 Hispanic markets across the United States. Some of the programs involved in the radiothon are El Mañanero con el Gordo y Sachari, Julie Stav, Dra. Isabel, Locura por el Fútbol and El show de Rolando Becerra.

Among this year’s highlights, Dra. Isabel Gómez-Bassols, the nation’s most popular Hispanic radio psychologist, will encourage her radio listeners to support the life-saving work at St. Jude. The renowned and charismatic doctor visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., to experience first hand the cutting-edge research conducted at the hospital and to meet some of the Hispanic patients who are fighting for their lives against cancer.

Gustavo Gutierrez, a 14-year-old Venezuelan patient, will share his heart-warming experience with the radiothon audience. Gustavo received a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, when he was 6 years old. In 1996, doctors referred Gustavo to St. Jude where he received a 2-½ year protocol before the disease went into remission. In 2001, 11-year-old Gustavo relapsed and was admitted to St. Jude. At that time he received high doses of chemotherapy for more than two years.

“There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. St. Jude has been a ray of hope for my family, a blessing from heaven,” says Yajaira Gutierrez, Gustavo’s mother. In the United States, about 3,000 children each year are found to have acute lymphoblastic leukemia.