Awareness, Anxiety, and Assholes!
You probably just looked at that like what?? Yeah, I said it.
Let me explain!
Awareness is so important. So many people don't know how REAL Childhood Cancer could be! It isn't a word, it isn't just something that happens to someone else. It happens it happens to families just like you and me! Three years ago in September, I would have told you that you are nuts! Cancer won't happen here!!!
Then less than 4 months later it was me and my kid! It was my family affected. We were 1/46. Luckily she has not been one of the 7. However, there have been many days when we log onto Facebook and see the names shared and start counting because that is how many kids we followed and connected to that became 1 of those 7.
No one should ever be able to say wow today this child, that child, so on and so forth until you realize you knew five or six of those seven. Then it just leaves you wondering who was the other one or two you didn't know. It is sad when you know that many kids. Something has got to give! We need more awareness for our children, more funding!!
That leads me to anxiety. To raise awareness we begin sharing facts. The facts are scary. The facts are that at any given day, my child could be the one to relapse. The fact is they give her a great 5 year cure. However, they didn't tell me how common those chemo side effects truly are.I am not saying they lied. I am just saying they should have told me 98% chance your kid is going to leave this scarred physically, emotionally, and mentally when this is "done". That is our kids reality. They will suffer chronic health conditions, secondary cancers, learning disabilities, and possible PTSD. We need more than 4% of funding going to these kids so that one day, their "cure" if there is one doesn't kill them and their dreams!
The last of this post I guess I could have been nicer.. maybe they aren't assholes. Maybe they don't know better. However, the people that just don't care. I am not saying you must share or like every post. It seems though that some people decide to compare my grampa had cancer, my aunt had cancer, oh we need the pink in September because Breast Cancer is important. Oh it is, it is, but it gets a whole damn month and usually 2 or 3 leading up to it. Childhood Cancer isn't even just one disease it is several different cancers all lumped into one, sharing an awareness month with a 1,341,227 other causes (yeah, I know, that is not the real number). LET US HAVE OUR GOLD. LET US HAVE OUR SELFISH MONTH. LET US SAY HOW MUCH IT SUCKS!!! Listen and help us act. Share our post, please don't hide them and say oh it is too hard.
I am sorry was that picture hard to imagine?? Well guess what that wasn't imaginary or a what if to us. That was our reality and still is. Always will be. Before cancer, I worried about my daughter with boys and parties and getting mixed up with the wrong crowd. Now I worry about blood test, bruising, strange belly aches, and the R word. I hope that no one ever has to face this but this is why Awareness is so important.
