It's September!

     This is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Help us raise awareness this month about the various kinds of childhood cancer. Ethen has neuroblastoma, but there are various forms of cancer, which require diagnosis-specific treatments. Chemotherapy is protocol for most (all?) cancers. Thank God for it, because without it Ethen would likely be dead at this point. But there are lifelong side effects for cancer survivors---Ethen has already lost some of his hearing; if one day he should marry, he probably can't have kids. There are other treatment options, but they are under-researched and in the early phases of development/implementation. Sadly only 4% of the National Cancer Institute's budget goes toward research efforts against childhood cancer. This means most money raised to fund efforts in pediatric cancer research must come from private sources. Researchers need money to develop new treatments.

     Knowing is the first step. Now go do something---big or little. Write the National Cancer Institute. Write your senator or representative. Give toward research. Find an organization you can stand by and see if there are ways you can help. We'll be writing more about this throughout the month.