CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS
Mark Harris, Mayor
Evanston , WY 82930
Dear Mayor Harris,
SEPTEMBER IS CHILDHOOD CANCER MONTH
Awareness of childhood cancer is the focus of Childhood Cancer Month. More than 12,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Despite progress in treating childhood cancers, more children die of cancer than of any other disease, including asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies and AIDS, combined.
Unfortunately, I am all too aware of the devastation cancer can cause because as you know, my sweet, beautiful, everything, creative, inspiring, patient, caring, kind, fun-loving, intelligent, compassionate, amazingly awesome, so full of potential, only daughter, Alecia, forever 12, bravely faced cancer for several long difficult months before flying off to heaven on Mother's Day 2004.
Some additional facts about childhood cancer include:
- 2,300 children and teenagers will die each year from cancer.
- One in every 330 Americans will develop cancer by the age of 20. On the average, 12,500 children and adolescents in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year.
- In the U.S., about 46 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every weekday.
The statistics don't even tell the real story. Those stories are told by people like me who have lost a child, one filled with such amazing grace, sweetness, and potential. The stories can also be told by the children still here battling for their lives every day.
Some children, like my sweet Alecia, do not survive. These are the forgotten children, the ones who are never talked about and are now lumped together as a statistic. These children are not statistics. They are the real cancer stories.
My daughter is a gift, a piece of heaven, but her experience and all the others like hers, could be likened to a place called hell. Sweet innocent children deserve better than this! We owe it to the heroes who are no longer with us to raise awareness and find answers- including the cause, a cure, and at the very least better treatment alternatives.The gold ribbon has been designated as the universal symbol of childhood cancer awareness. I ask you to proclaim September 24 th as Evanston’s Gold Ribbon Day, and encourage all citizens to wear a Gold Ribbon to raise awareness of this horrible disease and honor childhood cancer patients, survivors their families and caregivers, and those young people who have lost their lives to this devastating disease.
Mayor Harris, thank you for considering my request. I have included a sample proclamation which I hope you will use to proclaim September 24 th as Evanston’s Childhood Cancer Gold Ribbon Day. If you have questions or comments, please contact me at 307-679-3306 or 307-789-0856.
Sincerely,
Jan Louder
Alecia’s proud, but very very sad mom
For further information, or to request a free gold ribbon via the World Wide Web, go to www.ChildhoodCancerAwareness.org or contact the Foundation at (800) 458-6223 or via e-mail at RaiseAwareness@NCCF.org.
Childhood Cancer Gold Ribbon Day
Whereas , childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of children; and
Whereas , every year, more than 12,000 children and young adults are diagnosed with cancer
Whereas , cancer is the second leading cause of death during childhood, exceeded only by accidents, and
Whereas , on any given school day approximately 46 young people, or two classrooms of students, are diagnosed with cancer; and
Whereas , one of every 330 persons in the United States will develop cancer before their 20th birthday. The median age of diagnosis in children is six years of age; and
Whereas , our children are our most precious resource and are truly golden in our hearts and minds; and
Whereas , childhood cancer has touched or taken the lives of too many of our precious children, robbed them of their potential, care-free innocence, and youth, and stealing peace, joy and happiness from their families both locally and nationally; and
Whereas , children are gifts, pieces of heaven, but their experiences when diagnosed with cancer, could be likened to a place called hell;and
Whereas sweet innocent children deserve so much better; and
Whereas we owe it to the heroes who are no longer with us, and to those that are- to raise awareness and find answers- including the cause, a cure, and at the very least better treatment alternatives.
Therefore , I hereby proclaim September 24 th, 2004 Evanston’s Childhood Cancer Gold Ribbon Day. We encourage all citizens to wear a Gold Ribbon to honor childhood cancer patients- those young people who have lost their lives to this devastating disease, those who survived, and their forever changed families and caregivers.
Witness by my hand and the official Seal
(Signature of mayorHarris)
