MIAMI, Fla. (Louisiana First) — A co-founder of a Florida company knows the pain of being on the wrong side of statistics.

“Most people don’t realize that one in five children diagnosed with cancer will die,” said Jim Foote, co-founder of First Ascent. “And my son was one of those one in five.”

Foote recalled the moment hope gave way to resignation during his son’s treatment.

“We thought we were going to beat it just like everybody else,” he said. “After eight months of grueling chemotherapy, the doctors came back and said, ‘Jim, we’ve given it the best we’ve got. It didn’t work.’”

That grief became fuel for a mission. In 2018, Foote co-founded First Ascent, a Florida company working to improve pediatric cancer treatments. Unlike many therapies, which are adapted from adult drugs, the

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