This is Avrey. Our familys have been long time friends since I was a kid. She was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia in October. The diagnosis was absolutely STUNNING! It just blew my mind, the family is so active and healthy!?!?
Monday night I went to a benefit dinner for her in Redmond. It was SO wonderful to see all the support! People were out in the community getting auction items donated, the auction was a huge success. The restaurant staff all donated thier time to work the event. The wine and all the food was donated that the restaurant cooked. It was truely amazing to see a community come together to help a family in need!
Cancer in children is more common that most people realize. Childhood cancers behave very differently than adult cancers and the survival statistics are not as promising. Furthermore, the incidence of childhood cancer seems to be increasing. Please join us in increasing awareness of childhood cancer facts and statistics.
-Cancer is the number one killer of children by disease. It is the second leading cause of all childhood deaths exceeded only by accidents.
-One in 330 children will develop cancer before the age of 20.
-On average, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States.
-Approximately 12,400 children were diagnosed with cancer in the year 2000.
-Each year, about 3,000 children die from cancer - more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined.
-Only about 20% of adults with cancer show evidence that the disease has spread to distant sites on the body at diagnosis yet 80% of children are diagnosed with advanced disease.
-In the past 20 years only one new cancer drug has been approved for pediatric use.
-Only 3 % of the budget from the National Cancer Institute goes towards Pediatric Cancer research. (That's 3 % for ALL kinds of Pediatric Cancers combined!)
-The incidence of childhood cancer is increasing. The cause of this is unknown.
-Pediatric cancer funding is nominal in comparison to other more publicized diseases such as pediatric AIDS or juvenile diabetes which increases awareness each year.
-Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, occupation, and exposure to cancer-causing agents. The cause of most childhood cancers in unknown.
-Approximately 70% of children with cancer participate in research trials compared to only 3% of adult cancer patients. As a result, many of the advances in adult cancer treatments are due to breakthroughs in childhood cancer research.
-The government recently CUT the budget for Childhood Cancer research.
-As a nation, we spend $14 BILLION per year on the space program, but only $35 MILLION on childhood cancer research per year.
-The symbol for childhood cancer is the gold ribbon
Below are links to Avrey's CaringBirdge website. This is where the family goes to keep everyone updated. I have also attached a link to her Sparrow video.
