Childhood Cancer Awareness
3 year old Alex at his Uncle Steve's wedding day.
Cancer can strike anyone at any time. It is a group of many related diseases.
However, these diseases all have one thing in common: an out of control growth and
spread of abnormal cells. The nature of this disease do not restrict
itself to just adults. Children are also victims to this dreaded disease.
A child has his entire life ahead of him. In the past many never experience
life once they were diagnosed with Cancer. Today however, the Miracle of
being cured is on the rise, partly do to science. Children do have a
chance to survive the disease. But their survival also depends on your
help.
Children represent our future, but that future is often shadowed when a child
is diagnosed with Cancer. Sadly it seems that Society as a whole does not want to face the fact that innocent
children are victims of Cancer. This could be that they are not sure how to handle a
child with cancer and or the irrelevant behavior of denial towards the fact that
child are just as susceptible to cancer as adults are.
As adults we forget we were once Children. We did the same things they
do now. There is no denial to that. With that being the case I
present you the reader this question: How would you want to be treated?
Differently with special attention? Or just like anyone else?
Childhood Cancer Awareness is about just that. Making people aware that
cancer also strikes children. Any child, anywhere, at any time. I'm
not trying to scare you. As a parent myself I never thought MY child would
have cancer, not as a child. But on the 28th of October in 1998 my wife
and I were told our son was diagnosed that day with
Leukemia.
Not just any Leukemia, but a very rare and fatal form of Leukemia known as
Juvenile
MyeloMonocytic Leukemia (JMML) that will strike 40 children in the United
States each year, our child became one of the 40. What made JMML so fatal that
at that time they have no set cure for JMML. The Doctors and scientists
around the world were trying to devise a protocol the would hopeful one day cure
this deadly strain of Leukemia. At the time our Son Alex
would become part of a clinical trial for a hopeful cure for this form of Leukemia. If
successful his treatments will provide a proven protocol that will help hundreds
of future children who may be diagnosed with JMML. Our prayers are for
Alex to be cured, to his Doctors to help guide them with making the right
decisions. Finally, for us to help my wife and I make it through the difficult
times. Our prayers are also for the other children who are stricken with
this terrible disease called cancer.
At the time I wrote this we did not know if a cure could be found, nor if we
could find a compatible Bone Marrow donor for him. Nor did not know if Alex would live to see his 3rd Birthday.
You can say we just did not know anything. We just became numb with a single
focus and purpose: CURE Alex.
We had our faith, hope, and a bit of helpful philosophy to make it through the
darkness. "Take one day at a time and live."
We hope to inspire hope and faith into others that regrettably will have to
go through what we did.
If there is anything that I can believe can help you and your family it is
to take one day at a time and enjoy life with laughter and enjoyment!
Live in the day, with laughter, faith and hope.
It's 9 April 2001, nearly 2 years to the date that Alex had
his Bone Marrow transplant. Last week we drove from Long Island, New York
to Saint Louis, Missouri too visit Bob the donor for a weekend and to celebrate
his 50th birthday. We had a wonderful time save for on the day of his
Birthday Bob was given notice by his place of work for 28 years that he was
being laid off. Our prayers go out to Bob on finding a new job.
Date last updated:
Monday April 09, 2001
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