As you may know, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. 

I am sure that everyone has been affected by cancer in some way, but you might not be as familiar with Childhood Cancer.

On the average day, 42 families will hear the words “Your child has cancer.”

It will turn a seemingly normal life into complete chaos. 

So, why the Gold Ribbon?  The color gold symbolizes how precious children are and the resiliency of childhood cancer heroes. Unlike other awareness ribbons which symbolize one specific disease, the childhood cancer ribbon stands for dozens of diseases.

Here are some facts about childhood cancer:

Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15 in the U.S.

One in 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer by the time they are 20 years old.

Every year, an estimated 250,000+ new cases of cancer affect children under the age of 20 worldwide.

Two-thirds of childhood cancer patients will have long lasting chronic conditions from treatment.

Childhood cancer occurs regularly, randomly and spares no ethnic group, no socioeconomic class or no geographic region.

In the United States, the incidence of cancer among adolescents and young adults is increasing at a greater rate than any other age group, except those over 65 years.

Childhood cancer is also underfunded.  Parents who have a child with cancer or who has lost a child to cancer will use the hashtag #morethan4 because that is all the funding that is given for the treatment of childhood cancer.

As a parent who has lost my little girl to cancer, it warms my heart to see a gold ribbon anytime, but especially during the month of September.  It is a sign that someone cares and your child is not forgotten.  Please join us in Going Gold in September.