I’ve been messaged and called repeatedly over the past week leading up to Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. “AWARENESS” has become an embattled word lately but I would suggest any awareness that brings attention to the lack of funding for Childhood cancer research is a VERY good thing. We only need to look to the most recent “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” to see the positive results from a successful awareness campaign. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge not only raised awareness for the disease “ALS” but raised an incredible amount of donations to fund future research.
All of us at David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation (DD&BCF) have personally felt the unyielding grief from Childhood Cancer with the loss of some of our dearest friends: Samantha, Rebecca, Gabby, Hannah and Miranda! There’s not a day goes by that I do not think about these amazing and beautiful souls that touched my life in such a special and meaningful way. I understand that sharing a gold flyer on your Facebook page, painting your nails gold for the month or wearing a gold pin may be viewed by some as meaningless or less than effective but I would propose those same ACTIONS could spark a discussion that leads to increased funding for Childhood cancer research. I feel comfortable saying with a high degree of certainty that the families for Samantha, Rebecca, Gabby, Hannah and Miranda believe any discussions or raising awareness that lead to increased funding for Childhood cancer research is not a good thing but a critically valuable tool in eradicating the words Pediatric Childhood Oncologist from the dictionary! AWARENESS brings your attention to a subject that you may not normally be exposed to and in this case it could result in saving the lives of children battling this deadly disease. My Facebook profile picture will be Gold this month as a way for me to raise awareness for the lack of funding for childhood cancer research but it’s also a way for me to remember and honor my friends that I miss so much!
Our youth sub-group called Generation Dream is dedicated to generating a ripple effect of kindness, hope and love for our families in NJ battling a cancer diagnosis. They will also be writing their local, state and federal representatives this month to ask them for increased funding for Childhood cancer research!
Sincerely, David
