100% - Is What the Survival Rate Should Be For All Kids with Cancer
DAY 7: KIDS ARE NOT JUST LITTLE ADULTSIf your child spikes a fever in the middle of the night, do you give him two adult ibuprofen tablets with a glass of water? No, instead you reach for the bottle of children’s ibuprofen because you know the adult tablets could be harmful to him. If your child is in pain because she has broken a bone playing soccer, do you relieve her distress with vicodin or oxycontin? No, because again, you know that they could be harmful, or even toxic, for her. And yet, when a child falls ill with childhood cancer, we don’t question giving that child the same medications and treatments we would give to an adult suffering from an adult form of cancer. Cancer treatments for adults have made remarkable, even miraculous breakthroughs in recent days, but using these cookie-cutter treatments on children instead of investing in new lines of research means that those successes have not been mirrored in survival rates for childhood cancers. As one mother pointed out, “Everywhere I look, I see pink ribbons and I feel thankfulness—and I feel anguish. According to an article published in the New York Times on September 22, 2008, as a result of advances in treatment, ‘98 percent of women with early-stage [breast] cancers survive at least five years…’ Why is this true? Because we have banded together to raise awareness and funding for our mothers, our sisters, our aunts, and our daughters. Our children who are living with, and dying from, cancer desperately need that same attention—and funding.” Click Here to Read More.