My "Why" for doing this St. Baldricks event is easy to define. My "Why" is my beautiful, funny, talented, and big hearted 8 year old daughter Annabelle. She was diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis at 4 years old. She had lesions on her pituitary gland and in her hip bone. She went through one year of chemotherapy, and I am happy to report that she has been NED since February 12, 2020.
However, going through this experience with her opened my eyes to the world of pediatric cancer. It is underfunded and under researched. These kids are undergoing treatments that are intended for adult bodies, and haven't been updated in 40-50 years. One in five of them won't survive, and 95% of them will have long term health consequences (including my daughter). So why am I shaving my head with St. Baldrick’s? Because it will actually save lives.
Kids with cancer need our support now more than ever. St. Baldrick’s is the largest non-government funder of childhood cancer research grants, and the pandemic has slashed donations, slowing down the progress to find cures.
Cancer kills more of our kids than any other disease. Research can change that, and I don’t want to let these kids down. Can you help? Thank you so much!