Yes, you heard it right: I'm shaving my head to Conquer Kids' Cancer!!
WHY? you ask.
Let me take you back quite a few years, to January 22 1968, when I became one of 'THOSE KIDS' and I was diagnosed with Stage IV High Risk Neuroblastoma. The odds were stacked against me, but at 8 1/2 Months of age what did I know about odds? Back then, my parents were told that I was on the very brink of terminal; 6 people (none of which were doctors) said I wouldn't see my 1st Birthday in and my Dad even went so far as to purchase an infants plot at the cemetery. Surgery took my right kidney and a 2 1/2 pound tumor the size of a big man's fist; chemo (which was 250 shots in the tops of both my hands) dissolved away what remained of the cancer on my left kidney and the outer lining of my stomach. I astounded Doctors and loved ones, I became my parents' miracle, I crawled through the fire and have become a Warrior for these kiddos. I have no idea who I would have become if I'd never been through this journey, but I know this journey continues even now to make an impact on who I am! So, I am 'that voice', 'that face', 'that story' - I am a Long Term Survivor and I carry the fight in my heart for every Angel, Warrior, Survivor and even each 46 not yet diagnosed!! They've all become part of my family and I love each one even without ever having met them!
No child should EVER have to be WARRIOR STRONG!!
No parent should ever have to BURY their child!
It's time today, NOW, to strike back against Childhood cancer. We're fighting now, so a day will come when we can strike out Childhood cancer and the kids won't have to fight. I am Carla Hood - a Warrior, a Survivor, an Advocate and I'm going bald because this time I HAVE A CHOICE!!!