I was a little brutal this month.
Usually I tend to focus on Elise's journey with Cancer. I dwell on her treatment, the people who blessed us, her miracle and the impact that it has had on all of us.
http://superdownsy.blogspot.com/2013/09/cancer-thoughts.html
Last year, I listed names.
This month, I shared photos of our friends that lost the battle.
Lost.
These are people who are in my periphery of thoughts often. At least once a month, usually more. And not as a passing thought, but really dwelling on them.
I know their parents must have them in their periphery on a constant basis.
Children are the most resilient beings. And not just in life, but medically. They bounce back with truly awe-inspiring magnificence. You can ask any medical professional, in any specialty.
If they had anywhere near the money spent on research that adults receive, I am sure that there would be breaking discoveries on a nearly constant basis.
Out of all the federal/public funding in cancer research, less than 4% is spent on children's cancers. Out of ever $100, only $4 goes to kids. That is paltry. And that is ALL forms of children's cancers...tumors, leukemia, genetic forms, brain cancer...you name it...
You can google graphs, the survival rates have come up with increased funding. They come up when they have people believe in them enough to say, we know you can find answers. We will help you. That's what your $5 says when you donate to St. Jude while you are Christmas shopping. When you send $10 to AFLAC or Cure Childhood Cancer, you are standing shoulder to shoulder against every parent's darkest fear...and you are fighting. Earnestly.
Do our kids not deserve a fight that is armed with the latest information? Do they not deserve weapons that work against this monster?
Would you go into battle with last year's information?
And yet, pediatric cancer patients do, daily.
Fund them. Find a chidlhood specific group, check on their financials, and donate. If you gave like the goofy ALS ice bucket challenge, you could give children full lives. And that was a social experiment whim. Imagine if you engaged and fought with them?
They could go into adulthood, warriors. They would be the ultimate survivors. Their families wouldn't have to listen to the what-ifs in the back of their minds...they would know who they would turn out to be. They would have the ultimate purpose: living life and impacting others.
My Elise is a survivor. She won her battle with 10 patients on her protocol. That means that it was BRAND NEW INFORMATION. But that was also 10 years ago. And I believe that is still the standard treatment protocol. It's working, mind you. We can say 10 years later, that she is still free from relapse or secondary cancers.
We have another friend that won. Her name is Ashlyn. She is a tiny little thing with a soul of a Navy Seal. She won. Thanks to random Christmas donations. Or people like me that have too long a list of those that Cancer took from their parents...and want it to lose, every single battle from now to eternity.
You can make that happen.
Choose a reputable group. St. Jude. Cure Childhood Cancer. Your local childhood cancer chapter. Beat it down. Send it your coffee money once a month to them. I don't care how small. If everybody did it half the year, or when they remembered, you'd outspend the government. In the BEST WAY POSSIBLE!!!
