My friend Holly asked me to do this post on We Know the Good Stuff for her. This same post appears on Tutus & Turtles.blogspot. So if things don't work quite right or look funny, check out that sight. As a cancer survivor myself, I am a HUGE supporter of anything that has to do with cancer research and support. After going through it myself, I can't even imagine what it must be like to go through something so devastating as a child. Read through this and see what you can do to help. Also, there is an adorable picture of a little girl named Sadie on the Tutus & Turtles blog. She is only 17 months old and fighting cancer.
*Kids Get Cancer Too*
Cancer in children is more common than most people realize. Childhood cancers behave very differently than adult cancers and the survival statistics are not as promising. Furthermore, the incidence of childhood cancers seems to be increasing. Please join us in increasing awareness of childhood cancer facts and statistics.
-Cancer is the number one killer of children by disease. It is the second leading cause of all childhood deaths exceeded only by accidents.
-One in 330 children will develop cancer before the age of 20.
-On average, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States.
-Approximately 12,400 children were diagnoses with cancer in the year 2000.
-Each year about 3,000 children die from cancer. This is more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined.
-Only about 20% of adults with cancer show evidence that the disease has spread to distant sites on the body at diagnosis, yet 80% of children are diagnosed with advanced disease.
-In the past 20 years only one new cancer drug has been approved for pediatric use.
-Only 3% of the budget from the National Cancer Institute goes toward pediatric cancer research. That's 3% of all pediatric cancers combined.
-The incidence of childhood cancer is increasing. The cause of this is unknown.
-Pediatric cancer funding is nominal in comparison to other more publicized diseases such as pediatric AIDS or juvenile diabetes, which increases in awareness every year.
-Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, occupation, and exposure to cancer-causing agents. The cause of most childhood cancers is unknown.
-Approximately 70% of children with cancer participate in research trials compared to only 3% of adult cancer patients. As a result, many of the advances in adult cancer treatments are due to breakthroughs in childhood cancer research.
-The government recently cut the budget for childhood cancer research.
-As a nation, we spend $14 billion dollars per year on the space program, but only $35 million on childhood cancer research per year.
How You Can Help
-The Symbol for childhood cancer is the gold ribbon.
-Wear a gold ribbon to show your support.
-Have a car wash, bake sale, or any special event and donate the proceeds to the childhood cancer organization of your choice.
-Go through old video tapes, DVDs, and CDs to donate to your local Children's Hospital.
-Ask your Student Council or PTA for help in getting your or your child's school involved.
-Educate youth by having them donate their allowance earned for the month of September.
-Donate Blood.
-Copy, post, and circulate this information.
-Support the kids fighting cancer by leaving messages on their pages and keeping them in your prayers.
-Click on the
Add to sk*rt button on the bottom of this post, log in or register a new account, and click on the Love It! button connected to this tutus and turtle's post to help increase awareness of childhood cancer. You may have to search for the post under tutus and turtles or childhood cancer.
