Porter Robinson Creates a Cancer Fund In Honor of His Little Brother

When an artist has a massive audience and influence, it should be their civic duty to have a voice, on and off the track. Today, Porter Robinson shared an extremely personal and touching story about his brother on social media, making a positive impact on the music community. 

In late 2016, his 17-year-old brother Mark was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Burkitt Lymphoma. Around the same time Robinson was on his Shelter tour with Madeon, a mass in Mark's abdomen was doubling in size every 24 hours. Thankfully with the help UNC medicine, he is now cancer free. 

Robinson went on to share that the US has a 90% or higher survival rate with patients. However, due to a more common connection between malaria and this type of cancer, kids' survival rates in Malawi drop to 29%. The producer announced he is teaming up with UNC to start a fund to raise money in Malawi for more resources in hopes to increase the survival rate. He also mentioned he will have a booth dedicated to the cause at his music festival, Second Sky. 

To find more information and support this great cause, visit www.robinsonmalawifund.org.

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in november of 2016, my then 17-year-old younger brother Mark was hospitalized with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called Burkitt lymphoma. he had a mass in his abdomen that was doubling in size every 24 hours. mark is pretty much my best friend - it was utterly devastating and one of the most difficult things i've ever been through (and surely a million times worse for him). through mark's own fortitude, and through the high quality of care from his doctors (Drs. Westmoreland & Hipps), nurses and staff at @UNCMedicine, i'm extremely happy to say that, as of February 2017 Mark finished his treatment and is now 100% cancer free and thriving. here's why i'm bringing this up: the survival rate for Burkitt lymphoma in the US is 90% or higher. but for kids in malawi, where it's much more common due to the connection between malaria and this form of cancer, the survival rate can be as low as about 29%. one of Mark’s doctors, Dr. Westmoreland, leads the pediatric cancer program that UNC operates in Malawi. i’m starting a fund in cooperation with UNC to help improve the survival rate in that region so that those families won't have to needlessly lose loved ones. in this case, more resources translates directly into higher survival rates. Second Sky (@secondskyfest) is going to have a booth (with Mark's doctor there!) to share information and accept donations for this cause -- we have a goal to raise $50,000 (or hopefully higher) and i'm going to match everyone's donations at the festival! if you’d like to get involved in supporting this cause, you can find more information here (also the link in my bio): www.robinsonmalawifund.org

A post shared by porter robinson (@porterrobinson) on Jun 5, 2019 at 2:01pm PDT