Imagine a world where pediatric cancer was curable. What if we could detect it early, use effective remedies, and send our children back to school to learn and play with their friends? We could look back at the time spent together in the hospital with fondness -- joking about the funny things we did with the surgical gloves, the stories we told as we spent nights on the pull-away cots, the books we read, the arts we crafted and the friendships we made with the amazing doctors and nurses. I'm shaving bald to raise money for pediatric cancer research so we don't have to imagine a world like this. Whether I shave my beard and eyebrows too is up to you!
My daughter Jasmine was diagnosed with bone cancer (osteosarcoma) in 2014 when she was 10 years old. She was tall for her age because the cells at either end of her long bones were dividing fast. One cell made a mistake during replication and lost its ability to 'play fairly'. But what if we could detect those cells early and remove them before they multiplied too many times? Sure, perhaps surgery would be required, but life would go on. Unfortunately for Jasmine, the cells were not detected until they had created a large, ugly, cancerous tumor on her right fibula. Her own cells had gone rogue.
Jasmine complained that her leg hurt after Taekwondo one evening. Upon investigation, she admitted that her leg had been hurting for many days. An X-ray revealed a large tumor. Chemotherapy and surgery were the standard treatments that hadn't changed for decades. But what if the therapy and surgery actually had cured cancer? Sure, Jasmine would lose her fibula as well as a year of school and time with friends, but the future would still be bright. Unfortunately for Jasmine, the chemotherapy and surgery were unable to eradicate the cancerous cells from her body. The cells had metastasized.
Having returned to school for the final months of 4th grade and all of 5th grade, Jasmine was looking forward to middle school. The results of a routine CT scan suggested a different path, however. Her lungs, filled with nourishing oxygen, were just the place for cancerous cells to hide. The scan revealed nodules in both lobes -- not a good sign to say the least. But what if we could trick our immune system into recognizing these cancerous cells? They wouldn't stand a chance! Unfortunately for Jasmine, these treatments are not available yet and the only choice was to remove the nodules and 'wait and see'.
Wait we did, and see we did. Tumors appeared in her right shoulder, left knee and ring finger as well as deep in her chest. The top-of-the-line methods of chemotherapy and surgery left Jasmine without her finger, right arm, and hair. But what if those treatments were finally able to rid her body of cancer? Sure, she'd be missing a finger and an arm, but she'd still be able to enjoy life and partake in more of life's milestones. Unfortunately for Jasmine, cancer was already clouding her lungs, and the only milestone she passed was becoming a teenager. We recently celebrated Jasmine's 19th birthday and watched as all her classmates went to college. But my memories of Jasmine end nine days after her 13th birthday in 2017.
I'm shaving my head with other St. Baldrick's participants to raise money for pediatric cancer research so that we can protect our children from travesties like this. St. Baldrick's is the largest non-government funder of childhood research grants globally (second only to the US government). We've made considerable progress on treating cancer in general, but cancer is still the leading cause of death for children after accidents.
To encourage your participation, I am making additional pledges this year. Upon reaching USD $20K in donations before the event on March 1st, I'll shave my beard. And with USD $25K in donations before the event, I will bid farewell to my eyebrows as well! Yes, with the dosage of chemotherapy Jasmine received, she lost her eyebrows too. For Jasmine, and all the other children robbed of their innocence by cancer, let's change the future together.
