All that glitters is GOLD.

I can't believe tomorrow is September 1st. Not because summer flew by before I had the chance to realize it even started. Not because Nora's big sister, Heidi, has now been in full day kindergarten for more than a week. Not because the humidity in Pittsburgh makes it feel like it's July 62nd instead of August 31st.

Exactly one week pre-diagnosis

I can't believe September 1st is here because this is such an important month to me now.

Tomorrow marks the first day of 30 days dedicated to raise awareness for Childhood Cancer.

Hours after diagnosis

You might think you know what childhood cancer is. You've probably seen the commercials. You might have cried while listening to the St. Jude telethon. A simple google search will certainly pull up a celebrity posing with a bald little girl or boy in a mask. You probably think you know how terrible it is. You don't.

Nora, week 1. Holding her IV line through the night.

While I, of course, believe all cancers deserve awareness and funding, I remain SHOCKED at how incredibly limited the funding is for Childhood Cancer.

Nora, after 1 round of chemo down, also SHOCKED at these facts.

Here are some facts that might surprise the heck out of you:

1 in every 285 US children will be diagnosed with cancer before they are 20 years old.

Worldwide, almost 700 kids are diagnosed with cancer each day. 43 in the US alone.

Almost 90% of all childhood cancer patients will suffer from long term side effects of their treatment.

Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under 19 in the US.

Childhood cancer is not 1 disease. It is made up of more than 12 major types with over 100 sub types.

Despite these scary statistics, Childhood Cancer receives just 3.8% of the annual budget from the National Cancer Research Institute.

My brave chick during round 2

Much of what we know about treating adult cancers was learned from childhood cancer research. Combination Chemotherapy is just one of those findings, but I personally know more than one adult who benefited from that research.

I hope these facts shock you. I hope they upset you and compel you to do more. Even if I didn't experience childhood cancer inside the walls of my own home, even if I didn't watch my daughter lose her gorgeous baby hair or have to flush her port daily, even if my family wasn't forever changed by Childhood Cancer, these facts would torment me. 4% is not enough. It is not enough for these kids who have barely had a chance to live. Kids that should have full lives ahead of them, now fighting for each day. We can do better than 4%. 

We HAVE TO DO BETTER.

We have to do better for Ezra, Riley, Emery, Ryan, Trinity, and the thousands of other little ones who earned their wings before it was their due time. Maybe I have more fight in my lungs because I have seen too much. The needles, the vomit, the steroid rage (yes, even in infants), the mouth sores, the sleepless nights, the scanxiety, the medical forms, the bills, the worry...this list is only longer for most parents dealing with Childhood Cancer. 

We are blessed to have Nora with us every single day, I certainly know that. But, that only pushes me to fight harder for the other moms. For the moms who only have memories where hugs should be. That could have been me. And, if I am being honest, I know it is still a very real possibility every single day. It's exhausting living each day as if it might be the last good day, but I still have enough energy to fight for #morethan4 .

Please be aware. That's all I can really ask. Know the facts. I can't ask you to act on them. But, if you want to, there is so much you can do-WE can do-together.

Here is just  ONE way you can help. This app just rounds up your change to the next dollar. How easy is that? You don't even have to remember! You can set a monthly cap, and choose whether you want reminders or not. BeatNb is an amazing organization led by Kyle Matthews, whose son, Ezra fought neuroblastoma like an absolute warrior, but is not here because the treatments to fight with are just not where they need to be.
Every cent (that you won't even miss) is going directly to BEAT NEUROBLASTOMA. Every single cent.

https://beatnb.harnessapp.com/roundup/