History

Lisa Craine was diagnosed with stage IV Intrahepactic cholangiocarcinoma in 2010 and was given six months to live. She sought out a second opinion, which turned out to be life saving. Lisa’s journey has not been easy, she has endured over 30 hours of surgery, over 50 chemotherapy treatments, including 4 different regiments and SBRT radiation multiple times. Her cancer has returned 5 times with a total of 8 tumors. The Craine family wanted to turn this ugly disease into something positive and decided to put together a plan. They worked to implement three actions : First, create a 501(c)3 organization to raise research money. Next, develop a plan to mentor patients and caregivers providing them with navigation, knowledge, guidance, support and love. And the last goal was to strengthen their faith, in hopes of encouraging others to increase their faith.

Craine’s Cholangiocarcinoma Crew was established at The Akron Community Foundation in 2012 by David and Lisa Craine. The fund was created to support cholangiocarcinoma(bile duct) research and 100% of the monies raised are granted to promising cholangiocarcinoma  research. Craine’s Crew is a 501(c)3 organization granting funding to crucial research projects. Granting decisions are made once a year with the guidance of our medical advisory board. Our medical advisory board is multidisciplinary and includes experts in the field of cholangiocarcinoma.