September is childhood cancer awareness month and I was scrolling down my facebook feed when I saw a link from NBC News that read "Brain Cancer is Now the Leading Cancer Killer of Kids", leukemia used to be number one for many years. The two cancers together are the cause of more than half of childhood deaths.
The first thing that ran through my mind was my brother. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor that turned out to be cancerous at only eight years old. The doctors called it Pilocytic Astrocytoma. I remember when my brother first told me that he had cancer. Looking back at it now, it was sad, but still one of my favorite memories of us. He pulled me into our room and whispered: "Dee I'm sick, I have cancer." I laughed and said "no you don't" refusing to believe what he had said. I mean he was only eight at the time, how could someone so you and so innocent have to go through such a thing?
When I read the article NBC News posted I just wondered how lucky and blessed my brother and family are. It could have easily been the other way and my brother could have lost his battle with cancer. Instead, he is in his sixth year of remission. The article even stated that boys are more likely to die from childhood cancer than girls for reasons that researchers and doctors are unable to find out.
Childhood cancer is scary because when you think of children, you think of happiness, innocence and just a life of being care-free. The world we live in is full of growth, knowledge, and technology. I mean, we have literally put a man on the moon. I just hope one day we are able to find a cure for cancer so that these children and adults affected by cancer can go back to living their lives.
Until then I will use social media and other platforms to raise awareness about childhood cancer.
