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We Don't Back Down

Bite Me Cancer was born out of an identified gap in support for teenagers with all cancers by Nikki Ferraro when she found herself in treatment for a rare form of thyroid cancer at just 17 years old. She also realized that thyroid cancer was not the "good cancer" and that more treatments (and maybe a cure) were needed.

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Our Mission

Nikki wanted the foundation to focus on 2 goals:

(1) to support and inspire teenagers battling all cancers

(2) to directly fund thyroid cancer research


Goal 1: Nikki was 17 when diagnosed, and she "fell through the cracks" between the younger pediatric support and the adult services. This experience drove her desire to focus on teen cancer support. Nikki wanted to let them know they weren’t alone and that she understood. So, she developed a Teen Support Bag with all items in the bag selected for teenagers. Over the years, Bite Me Cancer has been able to provide other support to teenagers with cancer and their families.

Goal 2: Thyroid cancer continues to be one of the most increasing cancers in the US, yet successful treatments haven’t been available for many versions of this cancer. Nikki wanted to have Bite Me Cancer directly fund research grants. Therefore, the foundation has been able to directly fund many 2-year research grants in partnership with the American Thyroid Association.

Nikki's Story

Nikki was diagnosed with sporadic medullary thyroid cancer in April 2010 when she was 17 years old and a junior at Chantilly High School in Virginia. From the very beginning, Nikki was determined to leverage her diagnosis for good.

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Meet Our Board of Directors

This photo displays some of the members of our 2024 Board of Directors. We currently have 11 people on our board. We have room to grow!

Annual Reports

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