care2: the petitionsite
AJ was a remarkable young man. He lived life.  And fought hard.  He is the love of my life.

Cure Childhood Cancer - Another Inconvenient Truth

Target:
News media (e.g. 20/20, Dateline, 60 Min.) - we need to tell our story!

That's AJ, forever our 14 year old son - always smiling, happy, healthy, athletic and a joy to be around.  So sadly, AJ left us on January 5th, 2008 after an 8 month long battle with childhood cancer.  Join our fight for AJ and the 46 kids affected EVERY SINGLE DAY, we need to:

 RAISE AWARENESS & FUNDING FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER

Childhood Cancer Facts

 - Childhood cancer is the #1 killer disease of our children, more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined 

- 1 in 300 children will be diagnosed with cancer before age 20 

- Each year 3,000 children die, and 35-40,000 are in treatment

- Only 3% of all cancer research money goes to childhood cancer.  A bill in Congress will provide $30 million per year to fund research for childhood cancer.  For comparison, that amount currently funds 2 hours of the war overseas.  So our war against childhood cancer is vastly under-publicized and under-funded.

OBJECTIVE #1 - RAISE AWARENESS

- Deliver reams of printed signatures via FedX to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox and challenge every prime time, investigative or news media to produce a special devoted solely to childhood cancer.  

- The show will RAISE AWARENESS OF THE PROBLEM and show how special these kids are.  Show how they face fear, pain, boredom and the unknown, many times for years on end.   They may live or die, yet each will forever impact those around them in ways beyond their years.  Visit Care Pages (AJsspace) or Caring Bridge for real life examples.

OBJECTIVE #2 - RAISE FUNDING FOR A CURE!

- To raise funding we will publish and promote a book telling the heartwarming, heartbreaking and incredible stories of these kids.  Each child's story telling how they taught us lessons beyond their years, lessons they should not even have to know yet. 

- All proceeds for the book will go directly to CureSearch, the largest childhood cancer research organization charged with a goal of finding a cure.

You can make a difference.  You can help.  Please sign.  Need more? View this - Childhood Cancer

AJs Dad
Read the Petition Story and more on Childhood Cancer at AJ's Story and join the fight at People Against Childhood Cancer (PAC2)

Supporters:
CureSearch
LIVESTRONG
Alex's Lemonade Stand
Texas Children's Hospital

Duke University Medical School
People Against Childhood Cancer

That's AJ, forever our 14 year old son - always smiling, happy, healthy, athletic and a joy to be around.  So sadly, AJ left us on January 5th, 2008 after an 8 month long battle with childhood cancer.  Join our fight for AJ and the 46 kids affected EVERY SINGLE DAY, we need to:

 RAISE AWARENESS & FUNDING FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER

Childhood Cancer Facts

 - Childhood cancer is the #1 killer disease of our children, more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined 

- 1 in 300 children will be diagnosed with cancer before age 20 

- Each year 3,000 children die, and 35-40,000 are in treatment

- Only 3% of all cancer research money goes to childhood cancer.  A bill in Congress will provide $30 million per year to fund research for childhood cancer.  For comparison, that amount currently funds 2 hours of the war overseas.  So our war against childhood cancer is vastly under-publicized and under-funded.

OBJECTIVE #1 - RAISE AWARENESS

- Deliver reams of printed signatures via FedX to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox and challenge every prime time, investigative or news media to produce a special devoted solely to childhood cancer.  

- The show will RAISE AWARENESS OF THE PROBLEM and show how special these kids are.  Show how they face fear, pain, boredom and the unknown, many times for years on end.   They may live or die, yet each will forever impact those around them in ways beyond their years.  Visit Care Pages (AJsspace) or Caring Bridge for real life examples.

OBJECTIVE #2 - RAISE FUNDING FOR A CURE!

- To raise funding we will publish and promote a book telling the heartwarming, heartbreaking and incredible stories of these kids.  Each child's story telling how they taught us lessons beyond their years, lessons they should not even have to know yet. 

- All proceeds for the book will go directly to CureSearch, the largest childhood cancer research organization charged with a goal of finding a cure.

You can make a difference.  You can help.  Please sign.  Need more? View this - Childhood Cancer

AJs Dad
Read the Petition Story and more on Childhood Cancer at AJ's Story and join the fight at People Against Childhood Cancer (PAC2)

Supporters:
CureSearch
LIVESTRONG
Alex's Lemonade Stand
Texas Children's Hospital

Duke University Medical School
People Against Childhood Cancer

 

Unfortunately we the undersigned have become aware, some of us all too personally, of the leading killer of our children from disease, childhood cancer.  We are writing to challenge you to investigate this killer and broadcast a show which describes its impact on our children and their families, tells the incredible stories of these children, and asks that the "uninitiated" Americans help. 

At one point, we were also "uninitiated" and wish we could return.  But once you have heard those words, "your child has cancer", once you have seen the children, their families, the medical professionals who care for them, once you have seen how each child impacts the lives of so many around them, you too will be changed and driven to DO SOMETHING.  Simply too many of our children continue to fall victim.  Current awareness and funding are woefully inadequate to achieve our ultimate goal, a cure. 

Cure Search is an organization which unites the world's largest childhood cancer research organization, the Children's Oncology Group, and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation through our mission to cure childhood cancer.  This Group and its members treat over 90% of childhood cancer cases.  Research is the key to finding the cure.  Some data on childhood cancer:

- Cancer is the #1 killer from disease of children in the United  States

- Approximately 12,400 children are diagnosed with cancer each year

- Each year, about 3,000 children die of cancer; more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and pediatric AIDS combined

- About one in 300 boys and one in 333 girls will develop cancer before the age of 20

- The incidence, or frequency that cancer is diagnosed, has risen since the 1970s for some types of childhood cancer, but rates have been fairly stable in more recent years

- The causes of most childhood cancers are not yet known

    There is a bill being "debated" in Congress right now to fund research specifically for childhood cancer. The bill will provide research funding of $30 million per year for five years. For comparison, that same amount currently funds fund 2 hours of the war overseas.  So our war is vastly under-publicized and under-funded.

    Each child can provide hours of heartbreaking, heartwarming, and incredible stories.  They may live or die, yet each will forever impact those around them in ways beyond their years.  Each is a treasure, with so much to give, so much to live for, and so much to yet do.  Visit Care Pages or Caring Bridge for real life examples.

    To raise funds, we will tell these children's stories in a book, with hundreds of profiles of cancer kids.  Each story telling how they taught us lessons beyond their years, lessons they should not even have to know yet.   All proceeds for the book will go directly to CureSearch.

    We will continue to petition every television news magazine, talk show and news publication we can until we are successful.  We are committed to raise awareness and funding CureSearch, so that we can stop this killer of our precious children.  

    Thank you for helping. 

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    We signed the "Cure Childhood Cancer - Another Inconvenient Truth" petition!
    # 13,860:
    7:05 am PDT, Aug 30, Name not displayed, Colorado
    # 13,859:
    6:56 am PDT, Aug 30, Elizabeth Spawn, Minnesota
    # 13,858:
    6:33 am PDT, Aug 30, Shelly Powell, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,857:
    6:32 am PDT, Aug 30, Bridget Mountjoy, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,856:
    6:31 am PDT, Aug 30, Stephen Powell, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,855:
    6:30 am PDT, Aug 30, Alan Goldie, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,854:
    6:29 am PDT, Aug 30, Fannie Biggs, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,853:
    6:28 am PDT, Aug 30, Cindi Harris, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,852:
    6:27 am PDT, Aug 30, Marissa Hall, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,851:
    6:25 am PDT, Aug 30, Rachael Hatfield, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,850:
    6:24 am PDT, Aug 30, Joe Kelly, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,849:
    6:23 am PDT, Aug 30, Justin Nichols, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,848:
    6:22 am PDT, Aug 30, Philip Dean, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,847:
    6:21 am PDT, Aug 30, Denise Boyd, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,846:
    6:20 am PDT, Aug 30, Brenda Ellis, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,845:
    6:19 am PDT, Aug 30, Debbie Mems, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,844:
    6:17 am PDT, Aug 30, Stacey Wilson, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,843:
    6:16 am PDT, Aug 30, Kelsey Sheegog, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,842:
    6:15 am PDT, Aug 30, Paul Chambers, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,841:
    6:14 am PDT, Aug 30, Elizabeth Joiner, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,840:
    6:12 am PDT, Aug 30, Judy Wehmiller, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,839:
    6:11 am PDT, Aug 30, Teresa Wehmiller, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,838:
    6:10 am PDT, Aug 30, Marty Young, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,837:
    6:07 am PDT, Aug 30, Denise Burguess, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,836:
    6:06 am PDT, Aug 30, Mark Crawford, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,835:
    6:04 am PDT, Aug 30, Teresa Adams, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,834:
    6:02 am PDT, Aug 30, Mary King, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,833:
    6:01 am PDT, Aug 30, Randall Ward, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,832:
    5:59 am PDT, Aug 30, Christy Smith, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,831:
    5:57 am PDT, Aug 30, AT Wehmiller, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,830:
    5:56 am PDT, Aug 30, Brady Wehmiller, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,829:
    5:54 am PDT, Aug 30, Loren Estes, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,828:
    5:52 am PDT, Aug 30, Reeda Rowlan, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,827:
    5:49 am PDT, Aug 30, Kirk Schlea, Kentucky
    In honor of children with cancer in Danville, KY.
    # 13,826:
    3:24 am PDT, Aug 30, Bonnie Pontell, Pennsylvania
    My son was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor at 25 months of age and my daughter was diagnosed with Wilms tumor at 15 months of age. Each of my children lost a kidney and had chemo. My son is now 8 and my daughter 4. Thank you God.
    # 13,825:
    9:06 pm PDT, Aug 29, Name not displayed, Colorado
    # 13,824:
    8:28 pm PDT, Aug 29, Lidia Russo, Florida
    # 13,823:
    3:32 pm PDT, Aug 29, Natasha Lillington, Canada
    My daughter was diagnosed with childhood cancer 3 years ago she had wilms tumor and had to have her kidney removed and take chemotheropy.
    # 13,822:
    11:28 am PDT, Aug 29, Nancy Hannigan, Pennsylvania
    I lost a beautiful grandaughter to Childhood Cancer.
    # 13,821:
    11:04 am PDT, Aug 29, Leslie Humiston, Arkansas
    # 13,820:
    10:33 am PDT, Aug 29, Heather Ingram, Idaho
    Hi, My name is Heather, and I am an extremely proud and blessed mom of three beautiful girls! TO make our story short, I will give you only the hi-lights of our journey that has lasted nearly 7 yrs now! My eldest daughter was diagnosed w/ Leukemia 2 months after her 2nd bday. She started her journey her own way, and continued to do things her way ever since. She didn't respond to the chemo. Most kiddos are told (for Leukemia that is) as we were, that it'll be about a couple weeks in the hospital then you get to go home. Of course the couple weeks is for tests and chemo etc, Well, as I said, she had to do things her way! AFter a few weeks, we were told, well, maybe a few more days,,,, then a few more few more weeks,,,,, and so on. THe chemo wasn't working and now she was having other issues such as internal yeast infections that were eating away at her organs! SHe was diagnosed in Nov. On xmas day she was allowed to go home for 3 hrs, then back to the hospital. The day after xmas, her labs and everything about her started going faster down hill. We were moved into PICU, where she would go through more tests hooked up to even more pumps and machines..... I prayed so hard for God to help us all through this time! It got to the point soon after that, that visitors of any kind would have to be gloved, and robed, and masked before they could come into her room to just even hold her hand!!!! That included her parents, but I refused to be barriered against my own child! So, I had to be barriered when I left her room. New years eve, she started to go downhill fast,,,,, enough that the next morning she had to have emergency exploratory surgery! That gave us all the true colors of her fight, and whaat had to be done. We had to sit down with the doctor and have the 'your child may die' talk, and we talked about our different options and prayed the choice we made would be the right one for her survival! Thank God my child is a fighter! She beat the odds against her, and the MANY doctors that said she should not be here! In March, after 4 1/2 months straight in the hoepital, she was FINALLY stable enough to come home! After a couple weeks she was back in the hospital,,,, and after a few weeks back home we were. And so it went for 2 years and 3 months. Which also included 2 broken legs, and physical therapy and tests, and surgeies, and tests, and lines placements nad replacements, and on and on. She was deemed clear in Feb,... no more chemo! Now we waited. On average, the story goes, that after 5 years, the chances of you getting cancer back is minimal, and every year after that is even stronger! Well, around came November, and we had taken her to a doc appointment for her asthma. (yep, just another thing that developed). She was having some other complications. So, we had blood work done with some other tests, and well, She relapsed, just 7 1/2 months later! Back in the hospital we went! Again with the tests, and this time the cancer had spread to her spinal fluid! That meant weekly spinal taps and chemo until they put an ommaya in her head that had a small tube run through her brain to her pituitary gland. We nicknamed it her 'bump'. That March, and after many tests, chemo ,scans, and testing on her family members, we went to Seattle for a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully, her little sister was a perfect match! What a experience that was! Well, again, more tests, scans, surgeries, etc.... and after 80 days we were allowed to go back home where she awaited more tests etc. Well, it has been 3 1/2 yrs since her transplant. We have another 1 1/2 years to 'make sure' everything is ok. She is no longer on chemo, she still has to be poked every 3 months for her check up, but has been doing great so far. You would think that we would be done with our journey, but it is much farther then that! What I have told you was the cream of the crop, and MUCH shorter and without so much detail it is pretty pathetic actually, but I hope it gave you just a glimpse of what she had gone through! Since her transplant, she is in school, but has to have special help with many subjects. SHe is behind most of her peers, but with the help is slowly catching up. She has physical therapy and speech therapy still. She is a lot smaller than she is supposed to be, as for 2 years she literally did not grow. Because of that, she has to get a shot of growth hormaone to help her grow, as her body doesn't have enough hormone for her to grow at a regular rate. She will get this hormone foe years to come. (hopefully one day she will be off it!) So, post cancer, kids still have a journey to travel. She is very intelligent, but is still behind her peers. She can run, but she is always last. She has a beautiful smile and a generous heart. She is a happy child, and loves to help people out. She still tires easily, and there still are things that she goes through emotionally that she has to endure. But, she is happy she is alive, knowing that she could have died many times throughout her journey, and she knows her sister saved her life. She calls her sister 'supergirl'! I call them my heroes! PLEASE pass this on to your friends and family!!!!

    If your child is/was a cancer kid, and you would like to share your story for the book please send a brief note to AJsDad4227@gmail.com.

    # 13,819:
    10:29 am PDT, Aug 29, Deanna Deery, California
    # 13,818:
    10:24 am PDT, Aug 29, Colleen Martin, Pennsylvania
    our daughter ^^Danielle^^ fought her battle of Wilm's Tumor for 19 months out of the 30 months she was with us. We miss her terribly.
    # 13,817:
    7:53 am PDT, Aug 29, MARY SYLVESTER, Massachusetts
    # 13,816:
    7:49 am PDT, Aug 29, George Kondonijakos, Arizona
    My grandson was found to have cancer cells in a cyst that was removed. He is undergoing treatment and we hope all will be well. We must do better for all children and be supportive of parents.
    # 13,815:
    7:23 am PDT, Aug 29, Josie Ritter, Washington
    My 11 year old daughter is still battling the after effects of a bone marrow transplant to cure her rare form of ALL. Anything we can do to raise awareness and find a cure is most important to us.
    # 13,814:
    7:08 am PDT, Aug 29, Name not displayed, Venezuela
    because I have a Grandson who had childhood cancer. He is finilly off treatment and is cancer free. Thanks to this.
    # 13,813:
    6:32 am PDT, Aug 29, Jaime Lipson, Pennsylvania
    # 13,812:
    5:48 am PDT, Aug 29, Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
    # 13,811:
    5:18 am PDT, Aug 29, Name not displayed, New Mexico
    # 13,810:
    5:11 am PDT, Aug 29, Mary Beth Patton, Florida
    Our daughter battled childhood cancer for 9 months, during those nine months she was home, in our house for a total of 22 days and then died at the age of 10.
    # 13,809:
    4:36 am PDT, Aug 29, Andrew Pokotilow, Pennsylvania
    # 13,808:
    3:16 am PDT, Aug 29, James Marsden, Canada
    # 13,807:
    9:55 pm PDT, Aug 28, Barbara Slattery, Michigan
    # 13,806:
    8:29 pm PDT, Aug 28, Stella Kondonijakos, California
    My dear nephew was diagnosed with cancer at 4 months old and has been undergoing treatment for the last 6 months. I hope and pray ferverently that he is successful in his battle against this cancer and that no other child or parents in our family or any other has to go through this fear and pain and worry.
    # 13,805:
    8:21 pm PDT, Aug 28, Michelle Frazier, Virginia
    # 13,804:
    7:56 pm PDT, Aug 28, Mary Talianis, Pennsylvania
    # 13,803:
    7:52 pm PDT, Aug 28, Name not displayed, Texas
    # 13,802:
    7:44 pm PDT, Aug 28, Adi Kondonijakos, California
    # 13,801:
    5:47 pm PDT, Aug 28, Name not displayed, Ohio
    Tyler Alfriend was one of my schoolmates, we had gone to school for a while and while chekcin on his blog i ran across this petition, and think this is great of all of you to do! i 100% support everything your doing! god bless all of you!
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