1,735,350...

…the estimated number of people diagnosed with cancer in 2018 in the US alone - a disease that has no known cure and affects millions world-wide. 

Due to being grossly underfunded, unlike adults where cancer can be caught early, in 80% of children cancer has already spread to other areas of the body by the time it is diagnosed. A child is diagnosed with cancer every 2 minutes across the world. 

I am fiercely passionate about events like this; my mom was diagnosed with liver cancer—a cancer with, in 2019, an 18% 5-year survival rate—and  lost her battle with the disease 13 years ago. To watch a parent go through the struggle of treatment was simply devastating; to watch a child go through that is unimaginable.

For this reason, I have decided to participate in St. Baldrick’s at Michigan State on April 6th. St. Baldrick’s is an organization that raises awareness, funding, and support for families affected by childhood cancer. To date, the organization has awarded more than $238 million in support of lifesaving research. The main goal for my participation is simple—to raise awareness, fund the effort toward finding a cure and show children that they are not alone in their fight.

I cannot thank you all enough for your support and am so excited to raise awareness and funding for these courageous kids.