Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I bet most of you didn't know that. I didn't know that until cancer struck our family. I have posted before about my cousin Amanda that passed away from leukemia in 2006. She was only 18 years old. She was amazing and is my inspiration to tell people about childhood cancer.

The symbol for childhood cancer is the gold ribbon. It is unfortunate that there aren't more gold ribbons on products to bring awareness to childhood cancer. I am not putting down the pink ribbon by any means. But I wish that the gold ribbon was on half the amount of products the pink ribbon is on. Maybe then more people would be aware of the devastating toll cancer takes on the families of these brave children.

Here are some childhood cancer facts that I got from the cure search website:

In the US, cancer remains responsible for more deaths from one year through adolescence than any other disease; more deaths than asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and AIDS combined.

Forty-Six children, or two classrooms of students, are diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States.

Approximately 12,500 are diagnosed with cancer each year.

About one is 300 boys and one in 333 girls will develop cancer before the age of 20.

The incidence of childhood cancer peaks in the first year of life.

Leukemias, tumors of the brain and nervous system, the lymphatic system, kidneys, bones and muscles are the most common childhood cancers.

1 child out of 5 who is diagnosed with cancer dies.

3 out of 5 children suffer from long-term side effects.

The average age of a child diagnosed with cancer is six years old; saving the life of a child with cancer gives our children a future; approximately, 66 years of life's milestones and dreams to celebrate.

I plan on doing a couple more posts on this subject because it is so close to my heart. I am very passionate about this because I don't think anyone deserves to feel the pain that losing a child brings. It is heartbreaking.

Until next time,
Jaime