This is my story and this is my reason for wanting to get involved. My mother had stomach cancer for over a year. She had to remain in a hospital bed at home, elevated at all times.She was constantly sick and had a feeding tube for almost a year. She went through radiation and chemo. The medication she was on changed her personality. She was in so much pain. She eventually went into remission but she never really recovered. She started going downhill fast and eventually succumbed to complications left over from her cancer this past November on my dad’s birthday. Ironically, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer last spring. His cancer was operable and he had a lobectomy around October. Just a couple of weeks ago my dad started exhibiting memory loss and cognitive issues suddenly. I took him to the ER. After being sent to Jackson, MS for a bleed on his brain we got even worse news a few days later hundreds of miles away at a different hospital. My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. It is terminal. We are looking at 6 months to 1-2 years, depending on if the cancer has spread other places and if how he responds to his targeted radiation therapy. He is my best friend. My son adores him. He’s like a father to my husband. I never thought I would be in this situation. We now have a countdown on how many days we have left with him . I cannot imagine a child going through what my parents went through and are going through still. I cannot imagine the pain of a parent losing a child. To have to watch my child waste away from this terrible disease and be helpless. To see my child sick, scared, in pain. To not know if my child would have the chance to grow up and see the world outside of a bedroom and hospital rooms. I cannot fathom a child not being able to do the things all the other kids are doing. To endure  procedures, pain, to not know if they will live through it. A child with cancer misses out on so much of their childhood and are forced to grow up and face their own mortality far too soon. I want to do what I can to make a difference, even in a small way. When a lot of people come together for a shared cause, much can be accomplished. Childhood cancer research is extremely under funded. Childhood cancers are so different from adult cancers. Every dollar helps so much. 

Now I need your help! Will you make a donation? Every dollar makes a difference for the thousands of infants, children, teens, and young adults fighting childhood cancers.