Since 2012, September is recognized around the globe as Childhood Cancer Awareness month by countless cancer organizations. During this month, these organizations (including Cancer Kickers!) strive to increase awareness for these vulnerable patients and raise funds. These funds contribute to childhood cancer research and world-class hospitals like St. Jude, as well as directly impacting families affected by pediatric cancer.
If you want to take part in the effort to end childhood cancer, you can! Here are just a few meaningful ways you can honor and support kids with cancer.
There are many ways to donate in the fight against childhood cancer.
Monetarily – The most obvious way to donate is to give money to a cancer organization, hospital, or family in need. Hospitals like the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital rely on donations to provide care and conduct research. This is because they are committed to ensuring that no family receives a bill for their child’s treatment – ever!
You can give money directly to hospitals like St. Jude, to nonprofit camps for kids with cancer, and other childhood cancer organizations. Additionally, you can search through websites like GoFundMe to find specific families raising funds for their child’s care.
Physically – If you are unable to give with your finances, you can give of yourself in other ways. Give blood! Chemotherapy and radiation can damage bone marrow, which makes blood cells and platelets. When the body doesn’t have enough of these cells, the blood count becomes low, which can lead to anemia and an increased risk for infections. As a result, many cancer patients – kids included – need blood transfusions.
Type O Negative is the most in-demand and most used for transfusions when the blood type is unknown. This blood type is also the safest to use in transfusions for newborns. This blood type is relatively rare (only 7% of the population has it) and it is the first supply to run out. Type O Positive is the most common blood type, and thus widely utilized, too – it is universal for other positive blood types.
Regardless of your blood type, donations of blood and platelets make a big difference. If possible, donate directly to a hospital. If not, organizations like the Red Cross are known for their blood drives.
Care packages are an invaluable step in helping kids with cancer feel seen, loved, and cared for. We’ve talked about the value of cancer care packages before, but their application (and reach) is wide! You can make care packages for individual children, their parents, and…their care team!
Pediatric nurses – particularly those who work with chronically ill children or in ICU settings – sacrifice so much physical, mental, and emotional energy to care for our children. Nursing is a difficult job. It’s even more true when you’re worried about sick kids and when, unfortunately, their health takes a turn for the worse.
Beyond giving care packages to specific families and kids, get together with friends to put together a large care basket for the nurses in your local pediatric ICU. It can be filled with snacks, gift cards, self-care items, and nursing gear, like compression socks.
By supporting the care teams for our kids with cancer, we help ensure the best care possible.
BetheMatch is the global leader in connecting patients with donor matches for bone marrow and blood stem cells. These donations greatly benefit kids and teens with cancer in need of transfusions. Unfortunately, there is not enough diversity or volume of donors registered. You can register online and be the match for a child in need!
Additionally, registering as an organ donor can significantly help the over 100,000 men, women, and children waiting for an organ transplant. Children can register as organ donors, too, which particularly benefits child patients. While we don’t want to think about our own deaths, knowing that your body will be used to save lives after you’re gone brings a sense of peace and purpose.
Donating on your own can seem daunting. Organize a community fundraiser or join one in your area! St. Jude is known for its marathons (including virtual ones in the pandemic era). Social media makes it easier than ever to start an online fundraiser. You can do a community bake sale, car wash, 5k, auction, or other activity to raise money for hospitals, families, and charitable organizations.
Lastly, advocate. While “slacktivism” is an issue in the world of social media (that is, talking about issues but never doing anything about them), advocacy is an invaluable component in the fight against cancer. By talking about kids with cancer and their needs, you can encourage others to register, donate, and contribute in meaningful ways. Educate yourself and then work to educate others. The more we know, the less we can ignore the plight of children fighting cancer.
Childhood cancer patients and survivors are on our minds more than ever in September. Don’t waste this opportunity to make a difference!