September means back to school, but some kids
aren't getting on the school bus. Among
them are bald-headed children in hospital rooms
with chemo running into their veins, kids with
dreams and hopes of becoming vets, artists,
mechanics, and astronauts.
I'm not sure what my son Daniel wanted to be,
but I do remember his desire to get his hair back.
He fussed one day that people made fun of
him. I didn't ever hear anyone, but I'm
sure many looked at him and turned away.
He didn't see the compassion or pity in
their eyes. He just saw his reflection in
the mirror and even at age three and four
missed his full head of soft blond hair.
Some days when I see his hair-less photos
I want to turn away. But he'd tell me to
fight. If he had lived through the eight months of
chemo and radiation for neuroblastoma, that's what
he'd tell me.
As a nation we need to look. We must
take our head out of the sand and believe truth---
kids do get cancer, children of all ages, and of all
ethnic groups. One out of every 330 children
in the USA will get some form of cancer before
age 20.
While advances have been made in childhood
cancer research, there are still so many miles to go.
A petition for a childhood cancer stamp has been
in the works for over two years and yet isn't receiving
enough attention. There is no stamp to commemorate
the fight against this number one killer disease
among children and to make us aware of the young
innocent victims who need a voice in our society.
It's time to bring these children and this disease out
into the open.
Visit this web site to learn more about the cancer stamp
and action you can take to help:
http://www.kidscancerstamp.org/
