A Cancer Post
It’s September.
This month is significant for a lot of reasons.
My birthday is chief among them.
Kennedy officially becomes a 1/2 (as in 2 and a 1/2).
My Mom’s birthday.
And it’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
And you say to me, “Kati, childhood cancers have a survival rate of 80%, isn’t that good enough?” and I’m saying to you, “If it was YOUR kid, would it be?”
Let’s just be real here for a minute. No one wants to talk about kids getting cancer. Mostly because we don’t want to think about it. I know I certainly don’t and I live the reality of kids getting cancer everyday.
I was watching one of the videos a parent put together today and I got very emotional thinking about how that baby in the video is probably Kennedy’s age. How my heart hurts each time she gets a shot or gets just the slightest cold. How did my Mom deal with watching me and never let me see how scared she was? I think about how those Mommy’s felt when their little girls and boys lost their sweet baby curls because of chemo. I think about how those Daddy’s felt as they hold their kids down so they can receive chemos so toxic it will haunt them the rest of their lives, while that same chemo hopefully saves them.
I live the reality of the “cure” that is currently offered.
For me that means I have to search for my crutches every night when Kennedy cries out and needs cuddles. I have to pay twice as much for my shoes (because I only wear one). I can’t always play chase or do the things Kennedy wants me too (thankfully she’s awfully accommodating to me). I take medications each day because my cure also destroyed my heart muscle.
This means that my cure kind of sucks. Yes, I’m thrilled to still be alive and I make the very best of an incredibly crappy situation.
So, give your time and money to make kids crappy situations better.
Be proactive.
Be the Cure for some kid like me.
Then, in 20 years when she has a beautiful baby girl she’ll be able to chase her around because she still has two legs. She’ll be able to scoop her up and carry her when she scrapes her knee. She’ll be able to give her baby a sibling because her heart isn’t in the toilet.
Some of the Facts:
1 out of 330 kids WILL be diagnosed with cancer before 20.
46 kids WILL be diagnosed TOMORROW and every school day after that.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate.
Cancer in kids is an unknown. We don’t know why or how, it just happens.
There is an 80% cure rate… but if it was YOUR kid would that be good enough?
HOW TO HELP
Donate directly to your local children’s hospitals cancer research department.
(Locals http://www.curechildhoodcancer.org or http://www.choa.org/Childrens-Hospital-Services/Cancer-and-Blood-Disorders/Stop-Childhood-Cancer-Alliance)
Take dinner to the hospital for the families on the wing.
Buy new toys (they can’t have used, sorry, no immune systems) to put in the treasure chest (gift cards for teens are awesome).
