Although many of us are blessed with healthy children, I was reminded once again that childhood Cancer is on the rise in the United States. 

Did you know…?

Each year in the U.S., approximately 12,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer.  That is the equivalent to two average size classrooms diagnosed each school day.

Childhood Cancer can affect any child - from newborns to teenagers. There is no known cause for Cancer.  No one knows why some children get Cancer.   No one knows why some children get well and some children don’t.

Children tend to develop different types of Cancer than adults do.

There are currently over 40,000 children receiving treatment for Cancer in the United States.

Cancer remains the number one disease that claims the lives of children in the US.  More children, under the age of 20, will die from cancer than AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis and diabetes combined.

Leukemia’s, tumors of the brain and nervous system, the lymphatic system, kidneys, bones and muscles are the most common childhood cancers in the US.

Combined, the cancers of children, adolescents and young adults to age 20 are the sixth most common cancer in the U.S.

In the 1950, less than 10 percent of children with cancer survived.  Currently, nearly 80 percent of children diagnosed become long term survivors and the majority of those are considered cured.

Many breakthroughs in pediatric oncology have helped increase the survivability of adults with cancer.  Many of the principles in therapy used today in treating adults were first developed and tested in children.

Research is needed to end all types of Cancer and funding is the key.  There are many organizations that are leading the charge in the US.  Please consider donating money to organizations like St. Jude’s Children Research Center, The Pediatric Cancer Foundation or New York’s Sloan Kettering.