About TargetCancer Foundation

TCF was founded in 2009 by Paul Poth, a dedicated husband, new dad, and lawyer with a passion for public service. Paul was diagnosed at the age of 38 with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer that had no treatment or cure and very little research dedicated to it. For Paul, as for so many others fighting rare cancers, the diagnosis meant a best-guess treatment approach that relied on protocols developed for other cancers — all debilitating but none effective.

Paul set out to speed research and innovation, determined to use whatever time he had to drive better outcomes for people with rare cancers like his. In his final months, while undergoing difficult treatments and parenting his son, Paul started TargetCancer Foundation and raised funds for our first research investment – $7,500 to the Center for Molecular Therapeutics at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Paul died in August 2009, but the spark he lit has continued to grow. What began as an effort to fund basic research in rare cancers like cholangiocarcinoma and esophageal cancer has evolved into an organization that tackles challenges shared across all rare cancers, offering new options and support for everyone living with a rare cancer.