The end of September is here and National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is almost over. Another year passes and more kids are getting sick. October brings Breast Cancer Awareness month and everything will be pink. The NFL dedicates itself to it with pink hats, cleats and gloves. The Empire State building will be flooded with pink lights and everywhere you turn ‘think pink’ takes over. I admire the work done to bring such awareness to breast cancer, but I want that same level of awareness for pediatric cancer. Children are our future and deserve that same level of awareness and commitment to help them get through a battle for their lives. Please read these statistics they are alarming, especially if it is your own child or someone you know:
Facts about Cancer in Children and Adolescents
- Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with cancer.
- One child out of five who is diagnosed with cancer dies.
- Children’s cancer it affects all ethnic, gender and socio-economic groups.
- The average age of children diagnosed is six.
- More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year.
- Three out of five who survive children’s cancer suffer late-effects, such as infertility, heart failure and secondary cancers.
- There are approximately 350,000 adult survivors of children’s cancer in the United States.
- That equates to 1 in 640 adults ages 18-45.
So as September comes to a close, I ask you to join a pediatric cancer awareness group, volunteer, attend an event and do not forget until next September that each and everyday another child and his or her family are told, ‘you have cancer.’
To learn more about how a family can survive and conquer cancer read Alicia’s Updates A Mother’s Memoir of Pediatric Cancer:
www.aliciasupdates.com also available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com
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