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For the past eight years, music producer and promoter John Rivera has raised money to find a cure for , a rare but fatal brain stem tumor.

For Rivera, the fight is personal. His son, Cristian, was only 6 years old when succumbed to the devastating disease nearly a decade ago. DIPG affects less than 300 kids a year but the mortality rate is extremely high — survival time is measured in months, and there has been no significant increase in survival rates in more than 30 years.

"It's still very difficult," Rivera , which profiled his work earlier this week. "But I have to be one of the people — one of the tools — that helps find a cure."

Rivera created the Cristian Rivera Foundation in 2009, six months after his son's death, to raise DIPG awareness and to support hospitals and organizations researching cures for the disease, including °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Êapp, where his son was treated by Dr. Mark Souweidane, the director of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Êapp Pediatric Brain and Spine Center.

The foundation plans to honor Dr. Souweidane, who has conducted a new treatment trial partially funded by the foundation, during its annual celebrity fundraising gala on Nov. 30.

Learn more about the event and Rivera's story .