Our History

During Melanie’s hospital stays, when she slept for long hours, I often found myself speaking with doctors and consultants—trying to understand cancer, its causes, and its patterns. My mind was constantly racing. I searched through every moment of my life, wondering if something I’d done had led to this. My husband (an academic) and I (a former academic) developed our own theories and shared them with the medical team. But in the end, we were left with more questions than answers. Eventually, we gave up and accepted what we were told: “It was just bad luck.”

After Melanie passed away, I tried to avoid anything related to cancer. I didn’t want to see it, talk about it, or even hear the word. But one day, my husband asked if anyone had ever collected information about Melanie for research. I said no. That simple question reopened the floodgates. Despite my efforts to stay away, curiosity pulled me back in.

I began asking how childhood cancer research works, what it involves, and what we actually know. I could no longer accept “bad luck” as an answer. For my own sanity, I needed to understand more.

After three months of reading scientific publications, it became painfully clear: we know far too little. Research on childhood cancers is often inconclusive, with too few patients involved to draw meaningful conclusions. What’s needed is global collaboration—shared knowledge, shared experiences, and shared hope.

That’s when I decided to create Monty’s Corner.

It began as a way to reach out to families around the world, to offer support, and to help researchers gather the insights they need to protect other children from facing what Melanie did. It’s become my new definition of purpose: helping others.