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| RYAN SHECKLER.... Okay...could this kid BE MORE adorable?? The answer
is YES!!!!!!!
Ryan Sheckler has donated his Range Rover to the Children's Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) to encourage and motivate people to raise money for childhood cancer research.
You can check it out here: Ryan's Range Rover Contest 
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| I HOPE...
I hope you never have to hear the words, "Your child has cancer."
I hope you never have to hear, "The prognosis is not good."
I hope you never have to prepare to undergo radiation or
chemotherapy, have a port surgically inserted into their chest, be
connected to IV poles.
I hope your child never looks at you with fear in his eyes and says, "don’t worry Mommy,
everything will be okay.'
I hope you never have to hold your child as he vomits green bile.
I hope you never have to feed him ice chips for lunch.
I hope you never have to watch the "cure" you pray for slowly take
away his identity, as he loses his hair, becomes skeletal, swells up from steroids,
develops severe acne, becomes barely or unable to walk or move, and looks at you with hope in his eyes and says, "It's going to be okay, Mommy."
I hope that you never have to stay in the hospital for weeks, months,
or years at a time, where there is no privacy, sleeping on a slab,
with your face to the wall, where you cry in muffled silence.
I hope you never have to see a mother, alone, huddled, in a dark
hospital corridor...crying quietly, after just being told, "There is
nothing more we can do."
I hope you never have to take your child home (grateful but so
afraid) in a wheelchair because the chemo and radiation has damaged
his muscles, 35 pounds lighter, pale, bald, and scarred.
And STILL he looks at you with faith in his eyes and says, "It's going to
be okay Mommy."
I hope you never have to pray on your knees at your son’s side while you wait and watch the life leave him and then wait and watch as his last breath is taken. I hope you never have to watch a family wander aimlessly, minutes
after their child's body has been removed from their home.
I hope you never have to use every bit of energy you have left, with
all of this going on around you to remain positive, and the feelings
of guilt, sorrow, hope and fear, overwhelm you.
I hope you never have to face the friends that have stuck beside
you and hear them say, "Thank God that is over with,"...because you
know it NEVER will be.
I hope you never have to lie in that bed where you had lied so many times before waking up over and over with your hand on his chest to make sure that he is still breathing and praying all night that he lives until morning light.
Your life becomes a whirl of memories and emotions and you
try to get your life back to "normal" by holding those emotions down deep.
While living in mind-numbing fear that at anytime your emotions can take you
to a place that you will never be able to come back from. And every day begins and every night ends with his words, “It’s going to be okay Mommy.” And it is NOT okay.
I hope you never have to experience any of these
things...Because. ..only then...
Will you begin to understand.. . This was written by a mother who lost her son to cancer this July. You think you know...but you just don't. Childhood cancers are very different than adult cancers and so research is equally unique and funding is greatly needed. Here are just a few examples of how different childhood cancers and adult cancers are: 1) We know that most cancers are caused by our environment and/or years and years of being exposed to toxins and chemicals. There are children BORN with cancer and the cause of childhood cancers are mostly unknown. 2) The treatments that "cure" adult cancers are treating fully developed bodies. While chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation are highly toxic to cancer cells, they are highly toxic to healthy cells and organs, as well. Children have fragile, developing bodies. Most organ systems can be affected by cancer treatment, and children who have been cured of cancer frequently face lifelong consequences of those treatments. So you can see how there is specific research needed for application to a child's developing body to decrease the long term affects. 3) Childhood cancer is often more aggressive than adult cancers. It grows faster and is frequently metastatic (has moved to other parts of the body or to the major organs) by the time of diagnosis. Thus, surgery alone is less likely to cure a child. 4) Another important difference is that screening tests are available for some adult cancers, such as mammograms for breast cancer and Pap smears for cervical cancer. There are no useful screening tests for childhood cancers. 5) Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of children ages 0-20 in the United States. The leading cause of death for ALL adults is heart disease NOT cancer. | | |
| Dear Family and Friends, I desperately write to you with an urgent plea for immediate action and help!!!!! For those who have written to Senator Obama (THANK YOU! THANK YOU!), I am sure you received the same form letter response I did. Senator Obama STATES that he is behind THE CONQUER CHILDHOOD CANCER ACT S.911 100%, however, he has NOT signed on as a co-sponsor yet!!! HE NEEDS TO SIGN ON!!! The bill is scheduled to be marked up on NOVEMBER 7th!!!!!! Here is an email directly from CURESEARCH representative Kate Shafer letting us know what we need to do. She is asking you to call his office directly. I have already done so. Unfortunately, I received his aid's voicemail, but I left a message with my name, number and where I live, briefly told of Christian and of course my concern for the fact that the Senator has not signed on as a co-sponsor yet. I ask that you do the same! Tell about Christian. Tell about how if he (GOD FORBID) has a relapse, his chances of survival are VERY slim due to lack of research and limited choices of treatment. Tell about your concern for future children in the U.S. that will be diagnosed with this deadly disease. The NUMBER ONE disease killer of OUR children!! THEN, I ask that you PLEASE forward this email to EVERYONE on your email list. This will have more of an impact if all the calls come in TODAY. FLOOD their in-box with pleas for action on this very important bill!! Even if they don't live in one of the states listed, they probably know someone who does and can then forward the email on to them! OR you may want to let Senator Obama know that he will NOT get your support for President if he cannot be on board with an import bill like this. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for doing this for me, for Christian and for the THOUSANDS of other children who are currently fighting, have won their battle or (tragically) have lost their battle with this disease!! Love, Rene' Here is the email from CURESEARCH: Kate Shafer <kate.shafer@curesearch.org> wrote:
Subject: We need your help today to pass the Conquer Childhood Cancer
Act S 911
From: "Kate Shafer" <kate.shafer@curesearch.org>
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:04:30 -0400 (EDT)
Dear Childhood Cancer Advocate, The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act S
911 is moving forward in the Senate. We need your help today to keep up
the momentum to successful passage of this bill. The bill is scheduled
to be ‘marked up' by the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions
(HELP) Committee on November 7th. This is an important step on the path
to success. Today, we are reaching out to the cancer community in the
following list of 11 states:
Iowa (Senator Harkin), Washington (Senator Murray), Illinois (Senator
Obama), Wyoming (Senator Enzi), New Hampshire (Senator Judd),
Tennessee (Senator Alexander), Alaska (Senator Murkowski), Utah (Senator
Hatch), Kansas (Senator Roberts), Colorado (Senator Allard), and Oklahoma
(Senator Coburn). The Senators in these states serve on the HELP Committee
but have not signed on as co sponsors of this bill yet.
These 11 Members are key to our shared success for children with
cancer on Nov. 7th.
They need to hear from constituents that their support of this bill
is important to you and all the children and families in their state who
have ever had a diagnosis of cancer. If you live in one of the states
listed above please take he following steps:
Call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121
Ask for your Senator's office
Ask to speak with the person in charge of Health Issues for the
Senator - if not available to leave a voice mail with this person.
"I understand the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act - S. 911 will be
marked up on Nov. 7th by the Senate HELP Committee.
Please know this bill is important to me because ---.
Thank you. Your name and the city and town where you live.
PLEASE CALL TODAY 202 224 3121
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| September is -Childhood Cancer Awareness Month- Just a reminder that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Please wear- GOLD RIBBONS -to show your support. (My family wears one EVERY day.) . kids get cancer too! -Cancer in children is more common that most people realize. Childhood cancers behave very differently than adult cancers and the survival statistics are not as promising. Furthermore, the incidence of childhood cancer seems to be increasing. Please join us in increasing awareness of childhood cancer facts and statistics.x
childhood cancer facts
-Cancer is the number one killer of children by disease. It is the second leading cause of all childhood deaths exceeded only by accidents. -One in 330 children will develop cancer before the age of 20. -On average, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States. -Approximately 12,400 children were diagnosed with cancer in the year 2000. -Each year, about 3,000 children die from cancer - more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined. -Only about 20% of adults with cancer show evidence that the disease has spread to distant sites on the body at diagnosis yet 80% of children are diagnosed with advanced disease. -The incidence of childhood cancer is increasing. The cause of this is unknown. -Pediatric cancer funding is nominal in comparison to other more publicized diseases such as pediatric AIDS or juvenile diabetes which increases awareness each year. -Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, occupation, and exposure to cancer-causing agents. The cause of most childhood cancers in unknown. -Approximately 70% of children with cancer participate in research trials compared to only 3% of adult cancer patients. As a result, many of the advances in adult cancer treatments are due to breakthroughs in childhood cancer research. -The symbol for childhood cancer is the gold ribbon.-
. IDEAS OF HOW YOU CAN HELP:
-Wear a gold ribbon
.
-Have a car wash, garage sale, bake sale or any special event and donate the proceeds to Cure Search, Make A Wish Foundation, Candle Lighters, your local Children's Hospital or any other childhood cancer organization. www.cursearch.org www.wishes.org www.candlelighters.org www.childrensmemorial.org . -Go through old video tapes, dvds and cds and donate to your local Children's Hospital.
. -Ask your Student Council or PTO for help in getting your child's school involved. .
-Involve your church youth groups. .
-Host an Alex's Lemonade Stand. Better yet, have your children host it.
.
-Educate our youth by having your children donate their allowance earned for the month of September. . -Copy, post and circulate this information. .
-Support the kids fighting by leaving them messages on their pages and remembering them in your prayers. -Donate blood. .
-Remember Cure Search, Make A Wish or your local Children's Hospital in your estate planning.
.
-Participate in Locks of Love. .
-The possibilities are endless! 
Until there's a cure...because kids can't fight cancer alone! HUGS.....Rene' | | |
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