Go Gold for Kids With Cancer: September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and we need your help! We invite you to Go Gold for Kids With Cancer and turn your profile picture GOLD to stand with the many children across the United States battling cancer or living with the long-term effects of this terrible disease and today’s toxic, outdated treatments. We encourage you to Go Gold for Kids With Cancer and turn your profile picture GOLD to raise awareness of the desperate need for ongoing research into more advanced, less toxic treatments for every form of childhood cancer. And we urge you to Go Gold for Kids With Cancer and turn your profile picture GOLD to remind the world that children, adolescents, and families fighting cancer need our help, because Kids Can’t Fight Cancer Alone!®
Did you know:
- Cancer is the #1 disease killer of children in the United States today;
- Approximately 1 in 285 children under the age of 20 will be diagnosed with cancer;
- 2 out of every 10 children diagnosed with cancer will not survive;
- An estimated 379,112 survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer are alive in the US as of January 2012; one quarter will suffer at least one serious complication stemming directly from the toxicity of existing treatment protocols;
- Of the 109 new cancer drugs developed since 1990, only two were developed and approved by the FDA to specifically treat childhood cancer.
For families facing a cancer diagnosis, statistics like these are nothing less than terrifying. We must let these families know they are not alone; we must let them know there is hope. Research is progressing and advances are being made; for some forms of childhood cancer, survival rates are almost 90%. Yet we all know that these advances are not enough—our goal is to continue to work for a cure until no child, and no parent, has to face these grim statistics. The American Childhood Cancer Organization is a grassroots organization founded by childhood cancer survivors and parents and a national leader in the fight to raise awareness about the terrible toll childhood cancer takes on cancer’s youngest victims and their families. We urge you to add your voice to the growing chorus of people across the country—and the world—who are calling for more awareness, more advances, and most critically, more action.
Why Go Gold?
In 1997, a group of parents of children with childhood cancer selected gold as the ideal color to symbolize childhood cancer for one very simple reason: it reminded them of the preciousness of their children, and indeed of every child. One of those parents was a board member of the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation (CCCF, now known as the ACCO), which spearheaded the creation of the gold ribbon symbol for childhood cancer and the production of the first gold ribbon lapel pins. This courageous group of parents advocated for the adoption of the gold ribbon as the symbol of their support for every child battling cancer and its long term effects, as well as the families whose lives have been touched forever by this disease. Thanks in large part to the ACCO and its continuing mission to educate and improve the lives of children facing cancer and to advocate for new research and better treatments specifically targeted for childhood cancer, the Gold Ribbon has become an internationally-recognized symbol of the ongoing struggles cancer continues to present to its youngest victims.
We invite you to join the ACCO as we Go Gold for Kids With Cancer during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by turning your social media profile pictures gold for the month of September. It’s simple. Just follow the link below and join the thousands who have already turned their profile gold.
CLICK HERE TO TURN YOUR PROFILE GOLD! http://twibbon.com/support/gogold-for-childhood-cancer
We thank you, and the children thank you, for your support!
The American Childhood Cancer Organization is dedicated to offering assistance, support, and guidance to children facing childhood cancer and their families. Founded and led by survivors—individuals who have themselves or whose children have been touched by childhood cancer and its late effects—the ACCO is guided by a deep, personal commitment to doing everything we can to make the lives of the children courageously battling this deadly disease just a bit easier. To find out how you can help, we encourage you to visit www.acco.org for more information on our critical mission and details on how you can help us eliminate this threat to our children forever.
Kids Can’t Fight Kids Alone!®
For more information about the American Childhood Cancer Organization and how we can help, call 855.858.2226 or visit:
