When I was younger, like 7 years old, I remember I was showering one night before bed and as I was washing my hair, I pulled out several strands.
Immediately, my first thought was cancer… because I had watched my nanas hair fall out the previous year as she battled cancer. As I cried to my mother, she reassured me I wasn’t actually dying, but a few years later in 6th grade, one of my classmates was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia- the most common cancer in children.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the American Cancer Society, and also Relay for Life: it exposed me to the opportunities I had to help bring awareness and to be a part of a network of individuals who work solely developing cures fighting cancer. It’s a nationwide event that happens every year- you raise money and awareness to those who have lost their battle or survived, walk around your schools’ track for a few hours and have keynote speakers and different events. I started participating in middle school, once in high school and was on the board for my college chapter at USF.
You never realize how common but devastating cancer can be not only to the individual, but to the family. Between the bills, the therapies, the depression and the effects of the medications and therapies (like your hair falling out), you really see the priorities of life aren’t the things we stress out about on the daily basis. They’re on family and just making it from one day to the next.
This month is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, starting in 2012 by former President Barack Obama, and since the 1970s, the survival rate for children has skyrocketed:
- The five-year survival rate in the 70s was 58%, now its 85%.
- For those battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia, it was 57% and is now 92%. (Www.cancer.gov)
Suicide was number 3, but cancer remains 1st in the cause of death in children, and in most cases, early diagnosis is undetectable. There’s roughly 400k cases a year, and 1 in 285 children will be diagnosed before their 20th birthday (American Cancer Society).
An even bigger issue is that in low-income countries, the survival rate drops significantly.
I’ll add some links down below for more information, but overall, I wanted this blog to draw attention to how awareness can be so impactful for something that doesn’t even relate to a person. One day, something that you know nothing about or care for can become such a strong passion, and this is a topic that so many people say “ohhh yeah that’s terrible” however, have no intention of involvement.
The ongoing battle with cancer in children will probably never go away, but the efforts and involvement in cures can only increase, leading to early detection and resources better developed to therapies and family therapies that are better developed.
🙂 Happy Monday, and I hope everyone has a good week!
Resources:
– https://www.stjude.org/get-involved/other-ways/childhood-cancer-awareness-month.html
-https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-in-children/finding-childhood-cancers-early.html
okay, perfect. 
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