With September approaching in just two weeks, we once again flash the color gold throughout the entire month in order to express the need for awareness towards childhood cancer. While for many this is a hard subject to talk about, it is something that cannot be ignored in the slightest.
Cancer does not discriminate. It does not care about the color of your skin, your age or whatever you had planned for the rest of your life. It proceeds to do what it does best; try to rip you of everything you once were. When a cancer patient is diagnosed, they have two chooses as to how they want to proceed in battle. We can let it define us, break us down and make us weak. Or we can fight it. We can fight harder than we ever have before. While every child gives it a fighting chance, there are some that do make it to the light at the end of the tunnel. This is why we must dedicate an entire month to raising awareness and funds to support the research that childhood cancers do not get often.
With the recent debate as to whether or not cancer patients should be deemed as "warriors," I want to express the fact that they are true warriors in my book. The little souls who fight this terrible disease everyday so that they may have the chance to live deserve endless months of recognition. And this September, let us try to go gold for the rest of our lives for these brave warriors!
Childhood cancer deserves every bit of funding as anything else, as countless of innocent lives are lost each year. I am so proud to be a survivor, but my heart always aches for those who aren't able to go home. This September, we will remember the many lost behind the gold ribbon and those who are fighting to become survivors.