Spam book

small rant

TW: childhood cancer

Cancer. Childhood cancer. Many think of childhood cancer as they see it on television. Smiling kids on TV with bald heads, or trips to Disneyland, or meeting celebrities. What they don't see, is my sister having to be carried into a hospital because she's too weak to walk at the moment, or the mom whose son was born with the disease that I met yesterday in the pavilion. They don't hear the screams of the mom whose daughter died around noon today. They don't see my little sister throwing up everywhere, and they don't see my mom holding my sister in her arms as a nurse sedates her to put a port in her chest.

and then, they think that childhood cancer has two distinct endings.  

Death

and 

A healthy life after. But, that's not the case.

Cancer facts:

every fucking day, 47 children in the united states will be diagnosed with cancer.

More than 40,000 children undergo cancer treatment each year. The average age at diagnosis is 6 years old, while adults' average age for cancer diagnosis is 66. Childhood cancer is not one disease – there are 16 major types of pediatric cancers and over 100 subtypes. The causes of most childhood cancers are unknown.

Cancer is the #1 cause of disease death in children.

Due to the toxicity of the treatments, 2/3rds childhood cancer survivors will develop at least one chronic health condition.

 About 1,050 children under the age of 15 are expected to die from cancer in 2022.

only 4%  of cancer funding  is used to research childhood cancer.

the last cancer drug approved to treat childhood cancer, was approved almost 30 years ago...

Cancer in children is not rare. Children suffer from it, children die from it. People and companies will put gold ribbons on their social medias, and raise awareness, but children like my little 3yr old sister, deserve more than 4 percent. We need to push for more.