I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on February 3, 2006 at the age of 21 months. I received daily chemotherapy for over 3 years and finished my treatment in 2009. This is personal for me and my family.
Here are some facts you all should know:
*1 in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer.
*43 children per day or 15,780 children per year are expected to be diagnosed with cancer.
*More than 95% of childhood cancer survivors will have a significant health-related issue by the time they are 45 years of age. These health-related issues are side-effects of either cancer or more commonly, the result of its treatment.
*Cancer is the number one cause of death by disease among children.
Since 1980, fewer than 10 drugs have been developed for use in children with cancer. Only three drugs (teniposide and clofarabine, and Unituxin for use in high-risk neuroblastoma) have been approved for use in children. Only four additional new drugs have been approved for use by both adults and children.
*The average cost of a stay in a hospital for a child with cancer is $40,000.
*Only 4% of federal government cancer research funding goes to study pediatric cancer.
I'm shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research! Did you know that kids' cancers are different from adult cancers? It's true. And childhood cancer research is extremely underfunded. So I decided to do something about it by raising money for cures. 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.