#morethan4gogold
by Sumedha Mahesh
1 in 285 children, 50 years, 4 cents for every dollar, 15,780 children every year, 300,000 children globally, every three minutes, 2nd leading cause, 1190 expected under the age of 15 in 2019.
Right now, these may just be numbers to you, so let me give these numbers sense and put them into context and perspective. 1 in 280 children will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday, in the United States alone. Over 50 years, no new cures and treatments have been found for childhood cancer. For every dollar donated, only 4 cents goes towards childhood cancer. Every year, 15780 children are diagnosed with cancer, between the ages of birth and nineteen. 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer globally, each year. Every three minutes, a family’s life is turned upside down with the news that their child has cancer. Childhood cancer is the second leading cause of death in children. In 2019 itself, 1190 children who are under the age of 15 are expected to die of cancer.
Now what do these facts mean to us? Despite the fact that not only 300,000 children are dying each year due to cancer but 300,000 families are battling this treacherous disease, not one change of treatment and cure has been made or found in 50 years. Despite the fact that childhood cancer is the 2nd leading cause of childhood deaths, it is still underfunded. Why is this? Recently, I found out that much of our community is unaware of how underfunded the cause of childhood cancer is and I feel that that must change.
Many of us know about breast cancer and often times wear pink to support it. This support helped breast cancer gain a lot of funding. What if we did the same for childhood cancer? What if we assisted the families who are unable to pay their bills due to the commitment of keeping their child alive? What if we supported organizations such as St. Judes, organizations that strive to help families facing this deadly diseases, striving to not have them pay even the food bill? What if we donated some of the hair that we are fortunate enough to be able to grow back for the children who wish they could have just a tiny bit of hair, but are unable to because they are fighting a disease to spend one more moment with their family.
This upcoming year, I request each and everyone of you to cut back on one or two presents for your family and rather, donate that money towards helping these children who will be stuck inside of hospital windows, machines hooked up to them, their family by their side, hoping that they will make it through one more Christmas and New Year. Many times, this is the last holiday season that family will celebrate together.
This New Year, I urge you to wear the color gold as much as you can to support our childhood warriors. If you are unable to donate money, there are a million other ways to help these warriors. Grow out your hair and when you cut it, instead of wasting your hair, donate it and put a smile on a young warrior’s face (many salons cut your hair for free if you are donating- it’s a win-win!)
This year, 2020, I request you and your families to take a second each day and think about these kids who are missing out on everything a young child should be doing, for no fault of theirs, kids who are stronger than most adults, kids who face more than most adults do in their lifetime. This year, I request you to strive to help these warriors to the best of your ability. Remember #morethan4, strive to donate more than 4 cents per dollars. #gogold.
References
“Key Statistics for Childhood Cancers.” American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-in-children/key-statistics.html.
“US Childhood Cancer Statistics.” ACCO, 5 Apr. 2019, https://www.acco.org/us-childhood-cancer-statistics/.