I suppose that I always knew that kids got cancer, even if it (luckily) was not part of my childhood. My father is a doctor so I was fairly well-versed in the idea that kids got sick, even if it was not something I thought about on a daily basis. My earliest memory of being introduced to childhood cancer was in third grade. A boy in the grade above me passed away from cancer and although I had not known him, some of my friends had. As far as I remember, the community was devastated by this loss. As I grew up, I became more aware of the world around me, but there were not many stories in the news of children with cancer.

I started to pay attention to the issue more, but it was not until my freshman year of college. My roommate had lost her little brother to neuroblastoma, when he was just five years old. I will admit, when she first told me this I didn’t know how to respond. A question that had felt so simple (how many siblings she had) took a turn that I was not expecting. I expressed my condolences, which she accepted, and we continued on with the rest of our conversation. As with any family, the loss of a child became part of their identity as I soon learned. The whole family advocates for childhood cancer awareness and their social media pages are filled with pictures of their beautiful little boy who left too soon. It was not long before my roommate and her family taught me so much about the realities of childhood cancer.

As the year progressed, my freshman year taught me many things. I believe that the most valuable and important lessons I learned, however, were not in the classroom, but from my roommate. I learned that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, something I am ashamed to say I did not know before then. Nor did I know that the ribbon for childhood cancer is gold, a perfect representation of these kid’s courageous hearts. Almost everybody knows that the ribbon for breast cancer is pink, yet not many people seem to know what color the ribbon for childhood cancer is. I also learned that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) only spends a mere 4 percent of its funding on childhood cancer research. Only 4 percent.

The horrors of childhood cancer are all too real. It is a difficult concept for many people to grasp and think about, since nobody wants their child to have cancer. But the reality is that despairingly, childhood cancer does exist. The website Kids v Cancer has some of these startling facts listed on their website:

• 13,500 children are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. each year.
• There are currently 35,000 children in treatment for cancer.
• More children die of cancer every year than adults died on 9/11.
• The average age a child dies of cancer is eight, taking off 69 years of their expected life.

Childhood cancer is terrible and it is devastating. The loss of an innocent child is heartbreaking, but this does not mean the problem should be ignored. Just because it is a hard reality to face, does not mean it does not exist. Childhood cancer does exist and touches thousands of lives every single day. I am not asking you to change your life to revolve around childhood cancer, just to remember those little warriors who are fighting for their lives and the parents that have to watch in agony as their child sits in the hospital. Kids get cancer, too, and while they fight, they need others to join them in bringing awareness. Go gold!