It is that time of year when I shave my head to raise awareness of childhood cancer research. As most of you know, my niece and goddaughter Belle was diagnosed with ALL in Dec. 2008. She is now cancer free and doing great! YAY! However, many children still need the support St. Baldrick's Foundation offers.

St. Baldrick's started in 2000 raising over $100k. Since 2005, the total funding for grants passed $340 million. They are the largest volunteer driven program for childhood cancer research. You can find out more about St. Baldrick's here: https://www.stbaldricks.org/why-we-exist.

Did you know that kids' cancers are different from adult cancers? Many adult cancers can be diagnosed early. In 80% of kids, cancer has already spread to other areas of the body by the time it is diagnosed. Some cancers almost never strike after the age of 5; others occur most often in teenagers. Even when kids get cancers that adults get—like lymphoma—they must be treated differently. Children are not simply smaller adults! For many years, researchers struggled to give kids just a few more months of life. While many kids now survive, the search goes on for cures for many childhood cancers. But even for kids who survive, the battle is not over. A recent study shows that because of the treatments they had as kids, by the time they’re 50, more than 99% of survivors have a chronic health problem and 96% have severe or life-threatening conditions. So in addition to finding cures, a lot of research is focused on preventing the lifelong damage that results from surgeries, radiation and chemotherapies given while young bodies and brains are just developing. Even during treatment, kids face all kinds of side effects, some very uncomfortable, others life-threatening. That’s why St. Baldrick’s also funds research to improve supportive care for patients.