“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Abigail Grace Snipes. Is my
13yr old granddaughter and hero, Cards for Abigail@prayersforabigail. On fb, she not only fought a condition from birth but fought once it became cancerous.In her short 13 yrs she went through more tourture and pain most people do in along life time. She lost her fight Feb. 19,2016. Also kylleen Coogan of the dcmfwishes.org we couldn’t have made it through this without her” Tamra L.
THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release September 1, 2016 NATIONAL CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, 2016 – – – – – – –
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION
More than 10,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Although rare, pediatric cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death among children. As we invest in cutting-edge research and work to advance medical treatments to beat childhood cancer, each of us can help carry our vision of a cancer-free future forward. Each September, we remember those who lost their lives to cancer far too young and honor the courageous children who bring unwavering strength and optimism to their fight against cancer every single day, and we refocus our efforts on striving to cure cancer once and for all.
Cancer affects children of all ages, generally without a known cause. Over the last half-century, as cancer research and treatment has advanced, the outlook for children with cancer has greatly improved. We have witnessed tremendous improvements in overall survival rates, and a larger number of long-term survivors now look forward to longer life expectancies. Unfortunately, many face chronic health challenges or complications after they beat their cancer. As a Nation, we must recognize that there is more we must do to better understand and treat pediatric cancer.
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Danica Oney is a 26-year cancer survivor. At age 35 Danica was working full-time giving care, aid and comfort to memory care patients in a nursing home while living in Parker, Colorado, raising her 15-year-old son as a single mom.
At age nine, Danica was diagnosed with a Cerebellar Astrocytoma brain tumor. She underwent more than 20 surgeries, 18 months of chemotherapy and full radiation. At one point during her 2 1/2 years of treatment, her doctors gave her a 10% chance of survival. Her recovery was a miracle through a combination of modern medicine and much prayer. She has bravely adapted to a variety of health issues caused by the late term effects of childhood cancer treatment, always with a cheerful attitude, dignity and grace.
She recently ended up in the emergency room with symptoms of extreme vertigo, loud ringing in her ears, and some confusion which prompted an MRI. It was discovered that she has developed a Meningioma brain tumor that is in contact with critical nerves and the blood supply to her brain stem. It was also determined that she had very rapidly lost 100% of hearing in her right ear. She is now preparing for Gamma Knife treatment and is on FMLA from her job and is unable to drive. Through this all she remains a cheerful inspiration to her family and friends while she is fighting once again for the son she was never supposed to have and her desire to return to work for seniors that are in need of her patient, sweet, compassionate heart. Danica is an inspiration for the survival of childhood cancer as well as an example of courage in the face of challenges that sometimes follow childhood cancer treatment.” – Kathy P
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Owen was diagnosed with AT/RT an aggressive brain tumor at 14 months old. He started having seizures about a year later due to scar tissue from one of the two resection surgeries. With no luck controlling the seizures Owen had a hemispherctomy at three and a half. He’s been cancer free for over 10 years and seizure free for over 8 years. Not bad for an 11 year old. He’s been obsessed with super heroes since he first saw super Grover! He truly is my hero, he is my son, my life, my everything.” – Cyndi Y
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Kenneth fought through 30 months of having Gliobladtoma. He didn’t loose the battle he won the war on April 9, 2016 when he gained his heavenly wings of eternal life. Kenneth was 17 years old.” – Rachel S
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Ashtyn was a whole year old when he was diagnosed with AML, Acute myeloid leukemia, a rare type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. He fought hard for a year with many rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant that let him be cancer free for a few months before the cancer came back a second time.
Ashtyn earned his wings on November 30th, 2015. Although his wings were ready, our hearts weren’t, and we miss him everyday. In his short life, he showed me what it means to truly live, love, and find joy in the little things. He LOVED music and family, and combined that is what helped him through his plethora of treatments.
Gone but not forgotten, our hero he will always be.” – Amanda S
This week, two-time childhood cancer survivor Kara took her GO GOLD® shirt to the skies! Having bravely fought childhood cancer twice, Kara is now living life to its fullest, using the same courage, spirit, and determination which helped her win her battles against cancer to face another fear: jumping out of an airplane. Kara’s long battles with cancer have shown her that there is nothing she cannot achieve and that life is a beautiful gift that too many of us take for granted. Thank you, Kara, for showing us just how high a childhood cancer survivor can fly!
Like Kara, we hope you will wear your GO GOLD® shirt proudly this month (and beyond) to show the world the incredible fighting spirit of all teens and children battling this disease.
When I was 14 years old, a little shy freshman in high school, while I was enjoying my teen years my mom started to notice things that I shrugged off. She noticed a lot of bruises appearing on my soft, nearly flawless skin. This didn’t concern me much until I realized I could not keep up with friends as we played tag outside, waking up was more of job than school itself, and my lips were a pale unusual color.
At this point, my mom wanted me to be seen by a doctor. At that time I was living in Woodbridge, Virginia. She took me to a local clinic to have some tests. A doctor quickly looked me over. He decided the best bet was doing some blood test and going from there. At this point, I had no idea that those result would change my life forever.
Not even 2 hours later, the clinic called back and informed my mom that something came back not right and I would need to be seen the following day by a specialist. Early the next day, my mom and I loaded up for an hour drive to Walter Reed Medical Center. We were told to go to Oncology department on the 3rd floor. The word Oncology was foreign to me, although soon it became a word I would have to use too often. My oncologist, my mom, and I sat in a tiny room as those deathly words rolled softly out of his mouth, “Kara…you have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.” he said. My body felt numb, my mind filled quickly with a million questions as I burst into tears alongside my mom. He told us he’d give us a minute and left the room. I sat there squeezing my mom as we cried together.
Soon, this oncology unit became more of a home than a hospital. The day after my diagnoses I was scheduled for surgery to have a port placed. Chemo for me was brutal. Every day was a battle. With all the chemo drugs, steroids, shots, bone marrow biopsies, and tests, I was started to feel like a science experiment and it was 3 year process.
My high school, Freedom High School in Woodbridge, did an amazing fundraiser for me. They raised nearly $10,000 for me at a basketball event. The city also did a story about me in the newspaper. They followed me for 2 weeks in order to be able to see what I was going through and get pictures of me getting treatment.
A year into my treatment, my mom found out she was pregnant. Unfortunately I was hospitalized when she had her gender reveal appointment. It was a bummer. But she brought me a balloon to the hospital and announced it was a boy! When he was 2 weeks old we moved to Iowa to be closer to my mom’s family. My medical records were transferred to The Nebraska Medical Center, where I completed treatment.
After 2 years of chemo and a year of maintenance, I was finally done. I enrolled in college, moved into a dorm and was working full-time. Cancer was a word that was no longer in my vocabulary. I lived a normal life and was working on putting the pieces back together. I was healthy, happy and very much in love with life.
Sadly, this feeling was about to be cut short. Two weeks before my 24th birthday, a biopsy confirmed that my bone marrow was being invaded once again. My marrow was 80% leukemia cells. I was crushed, shocked and speechless really. I was sent to the Medical Center immediately to start chemo. But things were going to be very different this time around. Not only was chemo going to poison my body once again, radiation was going to fry my organs. All this in order to prepare for a bone marrow transplant.
This time was much more difficult than the first time. I had to quit my 2 jobs, un-enroll from my college classes, and say goodbye to my social life. My boyfriend and I were not able to afford rent without me working so we had to move into my mom’s house. But honestly, that’s exactly where I needed to be. My little brother was my comfort through my first go around and he was the second time as well. My mom has been a single parent since he was born. She has truly been the most amazing mom and caregiver that any child could ask for. I don’t think I’d be here today without her and my little brother’s support.
From February 2014 until July 2014 I did intense chemo and radiation. Luckily, the hospital was able to find me a 10/10 donor match. At the time she was a mysterious angel who was living in Germany. Today, she is no longer a mystery. On July 11th, 2014 I received Sabine Euler’s stem cells. The moment they entered my bloodstream, I had a mix of emotions. What if I got GVHD [Graft-Versus-Host Disease]? What if they don’t work? What if I don’t survive this?
Recovery was extremely hard. I had GVHD of the skin and gut. Treatment for this was the most awful steroid, prednisone. It took forever for my hair to grow back, for the moon face to fade, and to be happy again. My appearance was so unfamiliar. I didn’t look in a mirror for almost a year.
When I reached my 1 year re-birthday, I was closer to being myself than I ever thought I would. For me, this was a HUGE milestone. I was able to go another year with only being admitted one time for a severe sinus infection. I am beyond blessed!
Last month I successfully celebrated my 2 year re-birthday! Yet another amazing day I was able to celebrate. Beside me that day were 3 of my biggest supporters, my mom, my baby brother, and my boyfriend of 6 years who has also held my hand, cleaned up more puke than he wanted, and let me cry on his shoulder for months on end. Family and friends were a big part of treatment.
But the number 1 people I owe a huge thank you to are my amazing doctor, Dr. Gundablu at the Med Center, and my extraordinary German donor, Sabine Euler who is now my big sister! 🙂 I owe a big thank you to all my caring nurses, Pas, and staff who really made my experience with cancer suck a little less. The Nebraska Medical Center will forever be my second home. Oddly enough, I miss all of them since I don’t go nearly as often as I used to. Without all of them, my life would not be the same.
Yesterday (Aug. 28th) I went skydiving for my first time ever! And it was a life changing experience on its own. The old me would have never had the guts to jump out of that plane. With this life God has blessed me with once again, I plan on doing everything I was ever afraid of. You know why? Because I am my own limit and I will never allow myself to be limited. This world is an amazing place, with so much to offer. I think some of us don’t stop to see the beauty of it until it is literally slipping out of your hands. Don’t let your life lose meaning. Grab it and hold it tight. For in a matter of seconds it can be yanked away from you. Cancer has shown me so much, so very much. Life is more precious than most realize. Dream big and don’t EVER give up! All things are possible. I am a 2 time cancer survivor and I am in love with this life.
About the American Childhood Cancer OrganizationThe American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is a non-profit charity dedicated to helping kids with cancer and their families navigate the difficult journey from cancer diagnosis through survivorship. Internationally, the ACCO is the sole US member of Childhood Cancer International (CCI), the largest patient-support organization for childhood cancer in the world. Here in the United States, the ACCO promotes the critical importance of ensuring continued funding into new and better treatment protocols for childhood cancer. And most importantly, the ACCO is focused on the children: developing and providing educational tools for children fighting cancer and their families, empowering them in their understanding of childhood cancer and the medical decisions they must make during this difficult journey. All of ACCO’s resources are available free of charge for families coping with childhood cancer.
For additional information about childhood cancer or on the ACCO, or to order resources for you or your child, please visit our website at www.acco.org.
For additional information about childhood cancer or on the ACCO, or to order resources for you or your child, please visit our website at www.acco.org , call 855.858.2226 or visit:
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The Gold Ribbon: The international awareness symbol for Childhood Cancer is the gold ribbon. Wear or display a gold ribbon for everyone to see this month. Put a gold ribbon car magnet on your car, share gold ribbon stickers, wear a gold ribbon pins or make your own gold ribbon Add a gold ribbon to your social media images and add a gold ribbon emoticon to your posts and status updates. Provide gold ribbons for your child’s school, for your fellow employees at your place of work and/or for your church or other group. Click Here to learn more about the Gold Ribbon.
Go Gold®: Change you profile, cover and header images on your social media to gold or gold themed images. Ask everyone you know to show their support by changing their images to gold themed images. You can also wear gold, host a “Go Gold®” event or think of any creative way to share gold this September. Although many colors were considered, gold was agreed upon as the ideal choice for childhood cancer awareness because gold is a precious metal, and is therefore the perfect color to reflect the most precious thing in our lives—our children. Click Here to learn more about Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. (“GO GOLD®” and “GO GOLD for Kids with Cancer®” are registered trademarks of ACCO. ACCO registered the marks to protect the identity of the gold ribbon and GO GOLD expression and its derivations to the childhood cancer cause.)
Wearing Awareness Items: Wearing awareness items such as our awareness shirts, gold ribbons, “Go Gold®” bracelets, gold pins or other awareness items items. Our awareness shirts and items support ACCO’s programs and help us to provide free resources to families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis. Many of our shirts feature thousands of names that each represent a precious life and an entire community of people whose lives have been forever changed by childhood cancer. Click Here to see our 2016 Go Gold Awareness shirts (only available until September 12th) or Here for other awareness items.
Host an Event: ACCO offers many ways for individuals, corporations, schools and any other groups to host ACCO signature events to help support children and teens with cancer. We help organize your event, provide prizes and event materials, a website portal for groups, team and/or individuals to collect donations, and depending on the size of your event, provide marketing options. Click Here to learn how to get involved.
Supporting the STAR Act: What could be a better way to kick off September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month than adding your support to the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill ever in US legislative history: the STAR Act! We need your help reminding Chairman Upton that this bill is important and that it deserves a hearing! Click Here to learn more about how you can help.
There are so many wonderful and creative ways to help raise awareness about Childhood Cancer, and we are honored to help you however we can. If you would like to learn more or discuss your ideas about raising awareness this month, please feel free to Contact Us Here. We can’t wait to help you Go Gold® for kids with cancer this September! Please take a moment to view all of the many options on our website.
The American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is a non-profit charity dedicated to helping kids with cancer and their families navigate the difficult journey from cancer diagnosis through survivorship. Internationally, the ACCO is the sole US member of Childhood Cancer International (CCI), the largest patient-support organization for childhood cancer in the world. Here in the United States, the ACCO promotes the critical importance of ensuring continued funding into new and better treatment protocols for childhood cancer. And most importantly, the ACCO is focused on the children: developing and providing educational tools for children fighting cancer and their families, empowering them in their understanding of childhood cancer and the medical decisions they must make during this difficult journey. All of ACCO’s resources are available free of charge for families coping with childhood cancer.
For additional information about childhood cancer or on the ACCO, or to order resources for you or your child, please visit our website at www.acco.org.
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Madi stood gave up typically fun moments of her senior year of high school to travel back and forth across the country to help her sister and brother-in-law care for her niece, Estelle, first in El Paso, Texas and later in Boston, Massachusetts. Estelle was diagnosed with AT/RT a few months before her third birthday and fought fearlessly for nearly a year before gaining her angel wings. Madi worked hard to maintain good grades, apply to colleges, and love on her niece and (then infant) nephew with every bit of energy she had in her. Auntie Madi truly inspires me as she pushes on towards a nursing degree, with plans to work with pediatric oncology patients one day so she can brighten the lives of more children. She displays a love for all people she meets but no one will ever make her light up quite like her first niece did. The two formed a special connection from the moment Estelle was born and Madi seemed to go to the ends of the Earth in search of new ways to entertain Estelle in the hospital and at home. Madi inspires everyone around her to be the best that they can be and to do everything one can to brighten the day of another person.” – Emily D
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Sandy Crowninshield is my niece and the mother of Ty Crowninshield. Ty survived retinalblastoma when he was 2 but now suffers the effects of the treatments. He is currently not doing well. His mother has been his rock. She has given multiple transfusions and cared for him every single day of his nine years on earth. There is so much more to tell such as she is the mother of 5 children in all. Please consider her as one of your heroes. She is definitely one of mine.” – Tassie B
