Each year, students across America host a “pink week” at their high schools and middle schools during the month of October to honor breast cancer, spread awareness, and raise money for research. With all the support given to support breast cancer, an estimated $6 billion dollars is raised each year to support research. While I am in full support of everything this nation does for breast cancer awareness, I am disappointed in the little amount of acknowledgement that is given towards raising awareness for pediatric cancer.
Each day, approximately 36 children die of cancer; that over 13,000 children each year. Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death in children; an estimated one in every five survive. Despite these terrible odds, there is relatively no support given towards childhood cancer awareness. In 1997, a group of parents of children who were impacted by cancer chose the color gold to represent the children fighting this battle. Gold was chosen to represent the preciousness of the children. The gold ribbon represents the “courage and strength of every childhood cancer patient”, “the struggle to improve the still dismal survival rates of some forms of childhood cancer”, “the push to develop new treatments to replace the 30-year-old drug protocols still used today,” and “the need to help the 95% of childhood cancer survivors who suffer long-term, serious health problems stemming directly from their cancer treatment.” To this day, the American Childhood Cancer Organization continues its mission to spread knowledge of the color as more than just a precious medal and awareness of the meaning behind the gold ribbon.
The month of October is dedicated to “Pink Out Breast Cancer.” Similarly, the month of September is dedicated to “Going Gold for Childhood Cancer.” However, relatively no one knows what the meaning of “Going Gold” is. Children across the nation are dying due to this terrible disease. Ranging from birth to age 19, pediatric cancer affects kids and teenagers everywhere, yet no one is willing to raise awareness for research. These children are the future of this nation, as well as children across the world.
Throughout the month of September, I ask you to help me spread awareness for this tragic disease. Help researchers be one step closer to saving the next generation’s children. Spread it across social media. Organize fundraising opportunities and functions. Even if it’s just simply telling a friend, help us raise the funds needed and the awareness these children deserve. If you're a teenager reading this, talk to someone in your high school or middle school and see about dedicating a game to “Going Gold.” You would be surprised at how willing people are to help your cause. Let us come together as a nation to help these children and teenagers. Better yet, let us come together as a world and help these children and their families through a devastating time. Let’s go gold for childhood cancer.
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