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The governing body has declared September as the month of pediatric cancer awareness. In collaboration with Roselle Park resident Matteo Vitale, named borough superhero of the year, the mayor and council recognized the struggle of a family in raising public awareness of pediatric cancer.
Cancer in the child is not a specific disease, but a range of conditions including leukemia, brain and spinal cord tumors, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, lymphoma (including Hodgkin and not Hodgkin), rhabdomyosarcoma, retinoblastoma, Ewing's sarcoma) and congenital mesoblastic nephroma.
The average age of cancer in a child in America is six years old. A family is aware of this life-changing diagnosis on average 43 times a day – about every half hour. Worldwide, in recent decades, cancer rates among children have increased, with approximately 250,000 new cases of cancer in children under 20 – about 700 new children affected – every day.
One in five children loses their fight against pediatric cancer. It is the leading cause of death from illness in the United States in children under 15 years of age. Statistically, cancer kills more children than AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and muscular dystrophy. Of those who win their battle against the disease, two thirds of them will develop lasting chronic diseases resulting from treatment.
Since the causes of most pediatric cancers are largely unknown and unrelated to lifestyle, they affect children regardless of their socio-economic, ethnic, racial or geographic class.
Part of the insurmountable battle that families must fight against cancer is that over the past 25 years, only two drugs have been specifically developed for childhood cancer.
That's why dedicated research is so important with regard to pediatric cancer.
Cancer funding for children has declined steadily since 2003 and remains consistently underfunded. Less than 5% of the federal government's total funding for cancer research is devoted to childhood cancer, and only 4% of the money raised for the National Cancer Institute goes directly to childhood cancer research.
Awareness is the key to research.
To this end, Roselle Park has "Gone Gold for Pediatric Cancer Awareness" by wrapping gold ribbons around trees and poles along Chestnut Street. Alfred and Kimberly Vitale, parents of Matteo Vitale, have been diagnosed with a congenital mesoblastic nephrome and have just been named superheroes of the year in 2018. They continue to do everything necessary to raise awareness of pediatric cancer.
You can find more information about National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month at the American Childhood Cancer Organization (link) as well as the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (link).
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