September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September 6, 2012 

"Childhood" and "cancer" are words that should never go together. Unfortunately, every day in the United States, 36 children are diagnosed with cancer. Seven of these kids will not survive.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and we are reminded that this once deadly disease now has an overall cure rate of 80 percent. For many of the rare types of children’s cancer, the survival rates are less than 50 percent. But what good is a cure rate of less than 100 percent? And, for those who do survive, what does it mean? 60 percent of the estimated 300,000 childhood cancer survivors face long-term side effects from their treatment, such as secondary cancers.

At Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center, we are concerned about ensuring that children’s cancer research continues, not only to guarantee a cure for every child, but also to improve quality-of-life for those who do survive. Community-based philanthropic dollars are vital to funding research that will continue to affect survival rates and reduce late effects for infants, children, and adolescents with cancer.

We urge you to support children’s cancer research so that one day, children won’t even know the word cancer. Make your gift online https://www.gifts.duke.edu/dch and mention Cancer Awareness Month in the comments section.
 

Source: “Childhood Cancer”
Chicago Tribune News
September 5, 2012