The Sam Robb Fund

Like many boys, Sam loved playing sports – primarily basketball and football. At 6’5″ and 230 lbs. in the 10th grade, Sam was already a college prospect. But in the fall of 2002, X-rays of a nagging stress fracture in Sam’s left knee revealed the unthinkable… the diagnosis of bone cancer (osteosarcoma).

After an exhausting three months of chemotherapy, surgery to save his knee, and then more chemotherapy to eradicate the cancer, the news was bleak. Only 50% of the tumor had been killed, putting him into a high-risk group. His odds for survival dropped from 75% to considerably less.

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SAM ROBB FUND EVENTS

Even after hearing the news that his football career was over, he didn’t give up. He decided to play baseball. Although it didn’t come easily, particularly with a prosthetic knee, he managed to pitch for a highly competitive East Cobb team, winning the final game of a world series in Tampa. Although he never would achieve elite athletic status, he fought to realize his dream of being part of a winning team. Four and a half years later, Sam and his family thought he had beaten his cancer demons. And then, more bad news. In the spring of 2007, Sam began to experience fatigue and discomfort in his lungs. The lung scan revealed that a grapefruit-sized mass had taken over his lungs and chest cavity.

While many doctors felt the surgery to remove the tumor was life-threatening, one brave surgeon agreed with Sam to go for the “long ball” and remove the tumor…and a lung. Sam never made it off the operating table. The tumor was too difficult to extricate. But in many ways, the outcome was blessed. Sam never wanted sympathy, nor did he ever act like a sick person. He was good at everything except one thing – being sick.

Sam may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. The Robb family founded The Sam Robb Fund in 2007 to ensure that his spirit and determination will live on to benefit others. So, too, will his mantra, “Fightin’ Till the Last Breath,” continue to inspire children facing cancer. Since its founding, the fund has raised more than $1.7 million to fight childhood cancer.

Its purpose is twofold.

Even after hearing the news that his football career was over, he didn’t give up. He decided to play baseball. Although it didn’t come easily, particularly with a prosthetic knee, he managed to pitch for a highly competitive East Cobb team, winning the final game of a world series in Tampa. Although he never would achieve elite athletic status, he fought to realize his dream of being part of a winning team. Four and a half years later, Sam and his family thought he had beaten his cancer demons. And then, more bad news. In the spring of 2007, Sam began to experience fatigue and discomfort in his lungs. The lung scan revealed that a grapefruit-sized mass had taken over his lungs and chest cavity.

While many doctors felt the surgery to remove the tumor was life-threatening, one brave surgeon agreed with Sam to go for the “long ball” and remove the tumor…and a lung. Sam never made it off the operating table. The tumor was too difficult to extricate. But in many ways, the outcome was blessed. Sam never wanted sympathy, nor did he ever act like a sick person. He was good at everything except one thing – being sick.

Sam may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. The Robb family founded The Sam Robb Fund in 2007 to ensure that his spirit and determination will live on to benefit others. So, too, will his mantra, “Fightin’ Till the Last Breath,” continue to inspire children facing cancer. Since its founding, the fund has raised more than $1.7 million to fight childhood cancer.

Its purpose is twofold.

The Sam Robb Fellow

First, the Robb family believes it is critically important to help train young doctors who may make significant contributions to finding cures for childhood cancers, and they know Sam would be proud to support their education. To that end, the Sam Robb Fund funds the Sam Robb Fellow at the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Services of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine. Fellows care for children with cancer with unmatched skill and dedication, and the importance of providing them with the very best training and preparation for this vital and difficult work cannot be overstated. To date, the Sam Robb Fund has supported eight fellows, seven of whom are now pediatric oncologists across the country.

Marina Girgis, MD

Dr. Marina Girgis earned her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia and her MD at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where she contributed to research on neurofibromatosis-1-associated brain tumors and neurologic toxicity in cancer patients. She then completed the combined internal medicine/pediatrics residency at Vanderbilt University, earning praise for her meticulous, thoughtful patient care while conducting research on opioid use and its psychological impact in adolescent and young adult cancer patients. In July 2024, she joined the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University for combined adult/pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship training, positioning her to care for adolescents and young adults with cancer, and she is now pursuing a Master of Clinical Research at Emory’s Laney Graduate School, studying risk factors for invasive fungal infections in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Former Sam Robb Fellows

Tanya Watt, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Health, Dallas, TX

Nicole Schlesinger McKinney, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Memorial Hospital, Aurora, CO

Jonathan Metts, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL

James Felker, MD

Director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA

Jenny Shim, MD

Senior Research Associate, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Juhi Jain, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC

Robert Lisac, MD

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, BMT Faculty Member, Phoenix Children’s Hospital

Zuri Hudson, DO

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Tanya Watt, MD

Pediatric Hemotologist/Oncologist, Children’s Health, Dallas, TX

Nicole Schlesinger McKinney, MD

Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Memorial Hospital, Aurora, CO

Jonathan Metts, MD

Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Johns Hopkins All-Children’s, St. Petersburg, FL

James Felker, MD

Director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA

Jenny Shim, MD

Senior Research Associate, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Juhi Jain, MD

Senior Research Associate, Pediatric Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Zuri Hudson, DO

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

CURE’S Counseling Program

CURE's Counseling Program

Secondly, proceeds from the Sam Robb Fund support CURE’s Counseling Program. This program aims to address the psychosocial needs that accompany a childhood cancer diagnosis and course of treatment. Through this program, patient families are provided access to counseling services at a minimal cost to the family and are paired with qualified therapists in a geographically accessible area.

“Numerous studies have highlighted the importance of providing access to resources at the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment as the majority of patients and parents directly benefit from support from a psychosocial provider,” explains Annamarie Robb, Sam’s mother.

CURE's Counseling Program

Secondly, proceeds from the Sam Robb Fund support CURE’s Counseling Program. This program aims to address the psychosocial needs that accompany a childhood cancer diagnosis and course of treatment. Through this program, patient families are provided access to counseling services at a minimal cost to the family and are paired with qualified therapists in a geographically accessible area.

“Numerous studies have highlighted the importance of providing access to resources at the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment as the majority of patients and parents directly benefit from support from a psychosocial provider,” explains Annamarie Robb, Sam’s mother.

Purpose of the Fund

The goal of the Sam Robb Fund is two-fold: helping to train young pediatric oncologist through The Sam Robb Fellow, as well as supporting families in the thick of the battle with childhood cancer through CURE’s Counseling Program.