Pink, Pink, PINK!

I get it.

Breast cancer is an insidious monster that needs to be put to death.

My maternal grandmother had breast cancer. 3 of my mom’s 4 sisters have had breast cancer. Several friends have had breast cancer.

I get it. Breast cancer is awful. Huge understatement, I know.

But how can it be that our entire country knows about the pink, thinks about the pink, covers itself in pink every October…

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
but you knew that, right?

and the average person has no idea what the gold ribbon is for.

or what month it is promoted by a small, but passionate, army of advocates, mostly mothers, who, like me, probably didn’t know what the gold ribbon was for either, until their precious son or daughter was diagnosed with a Childhood Cancer.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,
did you know that?

I didn’t know it until last year, last September, the month after our son’s diagnosis. An aggressive malignant brain tumor. Medulloblastoma. Cancer…

I was surprised that I hadn’t heard about it, the gold ribbon. I mean, I was aware that kids get cancer too, but really, I wasn’t aware…

I wasn’t aware that 46 children are diagnosed with a Childhood Cancer each day in this country. Roughly 1 out of 4 will not survive…

I wasn’t aware that Childhood Cancer kills more children than any other disease, more than Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes and Pediatric AIDS combined.

I wasn’t aware that only 2 new drugs have been approved for pediatric, or Childhood Cancer, in the past 20 years!

I wasn’t aware that 80% of children have metastasized cancer at the time of diagnosis, vs. about 20% of adults.

I wasn’t aware that treatment can continue for several years, depending on the type of cancer.

I wasn’t aware of how little funding there is for Childhood Cancer.

But I’m aware now.

In August of 2011, my oldest son, Ian, was diagnosed with cancer. Medulloblastoma, classic histology, Grade IV, M Stage 0 (localized). Surgery left him with the devastating Posterior Fossa Syndrome.

5 months later, my youngest sister’s little boy, Tenney,  was diagnosed with cancer. Wilms Tumor, unfavorable histology/diffuse anaplasia, high-grade, Stage IV (metastasized, distant, in lungs, inoperable, his treatment NEEDS to work).

In August this year, just a few short weeks ago, my friend Sara‘s precious baby Hannah was diagnosed with cancer. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, at 3 1/2 months old…

In September, Ian had a “new area of concern” that was seen as a possible relapse…

A few weeks later, at the beginning of this month, a young boy from Sara’s church, Benjamin Isaac, was diagnosed with cancer. Wilms Tumor, unfavorable histology/diffuse anaplasia, high-grade, Stage II (metastasized, near main tumor, operable, but still highly aggressive).

Also at the beginning of this month, my nephew Tenney, who was a few short weeks away from the end of his treatment plan, was found to be relapsing. His cancer has grown chemo-resistant, and his situation went from scary to HE NEEDS A MIRACLE.

Please pray for Tenney!

And Hannah.

And Benjamin Isaac.

And Ian.

And the other children you know who are currently battling Childhood Cancer.

Pray for their families, for their weary mothers and fathers, for their finances, for their faith…

Pray, pray, pray, and then pray some more…

And consider a gold ribbon next September?

Tagged as: cancer, Childhood Cancer Awareness, gold ribbon