In September 2007, my daughter Sarah Hyman began attending pre-school at the age of 2. Within a month we pulled her out of class because in October she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive pediatric cancer. Sarah spent the entire school year and the following summer fighting for her life. She endured grueling treatments, 12 rounds of chemotherapy with horrible side effects, 20 rounds of radiation, multiple surgeries and potentially deadly infections. Sarah completed her chemotherapy in September 2008 and began Kindergarten in September this past year.
Here are some scary but real facts that everyone should know: 1 out of every 330 children will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 19, 1 out of every 5 of those children will die. There are 7 children fighting cancer today, who won’t make it through the day. Cancer is the #1 disease killer of children- more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes & pediatric AIDS combined. The National Cancer Institute’s federal budget was $4.6 billion, and all 12 major groups of pediatric cancers combined received less than 3% of those funds.
St. Baldrick’s foundation raises money for pediatric cancer research so that children like Sarah can be cured with less lethal forms of treatment. Ryan and Sean Hanlon created the team “Saving Sarah” several years ago. They, and many others, shave their heads each year in her honor. This is my third year shaving my head in honor of my daughter and in solidarity with children who are currently fighting cancer.
I hope by doing this, I can make some small difference in this huge fight for our children. Please help by sponsoring me in this very important cause. No donation is “too small”. Every dollar adds up and I appreciate any donation no matter what the amount.