siblings

The siblings of kids with cancer are heroes in their own right. Superstar fundraiser Max Magilnick is the 14-year-old brother of St. Baldrick’s Ambassador Emily. “When I started, all I thought that I was going to raise was $1,000 at the most extremely most,” he said. But while sharing his story, shaving and raising vital funds, he discovered just how powerful he could be.

Emily and Max while she was being treated for osteosarcoma.

It was the winter of 2011 and Max felt helpless. His beloved sister, Emily, had just been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bone.

What could a little brother do to help?

Turns out Max could do a lot — during four years of shaving and fundraising with St. Baldrick’s he’s blown past his goal of $50,000 and raised about $63,000 for childhood cancer research.

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In her very first shave, 11-year-old Ivy Moore went bald this past month in honor of her beloved sister, Georgia, and raised more than $3,000 for childhood cancer research in the process. Ivy reflects on her big sister’s cancer journey and why she decided to brave the shave.

Ivy Moore shaves for her sister, Georgia, who had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

I was 6 years old when my sister, Georgia, was diagnosed with cancer the day after she turned 10.

I remember thinking it was silly that she had to go to the doctor on her birthday, but the next thing I knew, we were all at the hospital.

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Ambassador Sam’s mom and sister are braving the shave for the second time this Sunday. Read their reasons for shaving, then make a donation to support them. If it’s more than what you’ve given before, or if it’s your first time giving, your gift will be matched!

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When 10-year-old Carolyn decided to shave her head and raise money to help kids with cancer like her sister, her father recognized a sense of maturity and strength far beyond her years.

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One week ago, 14-year-old Georgia and her family celebrated a very special day: the two-year anniversary of Georgia finishing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a type of cancer in kids. Her 10-year-old sister, Ivy, presented her with a letter to celebrate her feat.

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Branagh is 16 years old and a three-time St. Baldrick’s shavee℠. Her sister, Kyra, passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 2.

Branagh’s sister, Kyra, who passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 2, two years before Branagh was born.

Or so I’m told.

She had the most gorgeous auburn hair, I hear. She was braver than any soldier who has ever lived with the grace of a thousand princesses, people say.

You see, I don’t know about any of this, and for a while I rejected any previous existence of this sister. But her name is Kyra. I know that now. She died from cancer in her brain that doctors say is rare.

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On February 10, 2013, I lost my favorite fishing guide, stand-up comedian, Target-trolling companion, and beagle babysitter when my younger brother passed away.

Kiel (it’s the Irish spelling of Kyle, pronounced the same) had developed a strange bump on the left side of his neck by December 2012 and had been diagnosed with Stage IIB Hodgkin lymphoma just weeks before he passed away. His last few months on this plane of existence were not fun ones — he had been suffering severely from depression and anxiety, and his cancer diagnosis did nothing to alleviate that.

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Connor (left) was only 10 months old when his brother, Luke (right), was diagnosed with childhood cancer. Monica, their mom, says Connor is “empathetic, kind, tender, and loving.”

September is childhood cancer awareness month, symbolized by a gold ribbon. For families like ours and siblings like you, every month is childhood cancer awareness month. It never leaves us. It never will.

I have thought about you this entire month and what it must be like for you to be the sibling of a childhood cancer survivor, to have the spotlight (almost) always on your older brother, for something that was really hard and beyond anyone’s control.

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Courtney with her daughter, Georgia, who was diagnosed with childhood cancer in 2009.

I’m not much of a comic book fan, but I know a superhero when I see one. In fact, I have two living in my house: my daughters, Georgia Lee and Ivy Francis.

I’ve always known that they are MegaSmart,  DynaFunny, and UltraKind, but their greatest superpowers were revealed when Georgia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on December 31, 2009 — the day after her 10^th birthday.

Georgia is poetry in motion. From Day One, she has been an active, engaged participant in her treatment and care. She is confident that she will be cured but knows that she has to fight to get there, and so she proceeds like the thoughtful, quiet warrior that she is.

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Crystal with her brother, Cole, who was diagnosed with childhood cancer at the age of 8.

One of the most powerful memories I have about my brother is how much we liked each other’s hair — mine was long and smooth, and his was short and fuzzy due to regular buzz cuts. He would always say how mine was the softest and silkiest in the entire world, and I would rub my hand over his fuzz, saying how nice and fuzzy his head was.

After he was diagnosed and put into treatment, parts of his hair fell out. The parts that stayed he grew long and curly to hide the bald spots that embarrassed me, even though they weren’t even mine.

My brother Cole was just 8 years old when he was diagnosed with DIPG, a type of childhood brain cancer that starts in the brain stem. He was sick for about a year until he passed away in 2006, when I was 11.

A lot about that time does not make any sense, and it made even less sense back then. But I knew I had to do something to fight against the disease that stole my brother away from life.

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