One of my best friends is losing her 13-year-old to cancer. Her daughter will be one of almost 2,000 children this year to die from the disease. I met and have loved this little girl since she was in tiny diapers. The pain is devastating.
The research in pediatric oncology is severely lacking. Actually “severely lacking” is an understatement. There basically isn’t much kids cancer research at all. The research and advances you thought were happening in the childhood cancer realm aren’t happening. Children with cancer are mostly treated with adult remedies, put through adult chemo rounds, and hit with adult-sized radiation. Children aren’t eligible for adult medicine trials. Some of these trials extend patients’ lives for a year or two, but no child or teen is able to enter the experiments, despite the fact they’ve been treated like adults all along.
September is the Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. My friend is using her daughter’s illness as a conversation point, a face, a reality to help hit the message home. When you learn about the lack of options for these kids, you can’t help but wonder if your child’s suffering is needless. You wonder if there were only more scientists and drug makers interested, perhaps your child could live. The anger and the shock are unbearable.
The awareness is so low, a simple social share makes a difference. You can change your icon to the image above. You can share the following links on your social media channels to help spread the word. You can donate to one of the causes. But mostly, all I ask is a simple tweet, FB post or share, anywhere. Let’s raise the profile of kids cancer research and give people the chance to help. Thank you.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
Jessie Rees Foundation (jessie.org)
Brain Tumor Avengers – Kid’s Division