September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a topic near and dear to many hearts. Children should be enjoying their elementary school days, attending birthday parties and playing outside with their friends. Unfortunately, not every child is that lucky.
According to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, “One in five U.S. children diagnosed with cancer won’t survive. Each year, 175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer worldwide, and many of these kids don’t have access to modern treatment.”
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the leading center for research and treatment of a wide variety of childhood cancers. St. Jude’s goal is to completely end childhood cancer.
No family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened in 1962.
Image Source: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
It costs roughly $2 million a day to keep St. Jude open. This is mostly covered by public donations. This is truly what makes St. Jude so special, they do not turn away families who cannot pay for their child's treatment.
The walls are covered in bright colors, and the children are wheeled around in red wagons instead of wheelchairs, this is to help the hospital not seem like a scary place for the children being treated there.
About 7,800 active patients are seen at St. Jude yearly, most of whom are treated on a continuing outpatient basis as part of ongoing research programs.
The hospital also has 78 beds for patients requiring hospitalization during treatment. St. Jude has also treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.
Image Source: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Many corporate and private partners help give donations to make St. Jude a reality for children of all treatment levels. These include Chili’s, Tri Delta, Target, American Airlines and many more.
Since the partnership began in 1999, Tri Delta members alone have raised more than $31 million for the children of St. Jude.
St. Jude is such a special place for many people around the world. Join the fight against childhood cancer today, and spread awareness by “showing your gold,” on social media with special St. Jude photo filters found here.
