Patrick Chance's Story:
This is a tale of two lives, one who has lost much of the carefree days of childhood to cancer and one who has donated her carefree days of retirement to bring awareness and research funds to the battle to end childhood cancer. First, I must introduce you to Patrick. In June of 2006, at the age of 3, Patrick was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer of the sympathetic nervous system. He endured 10 rounds of high-dose chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, 9 months of oral chemotherapy, 12 rounds of radiation, and 2 years of painful anti-body therapy. He spent almost 100 nights in the hospital and countless additional days in clinics. During his treatment, in April of 2007, he was declared in remission. He completed therapy at the end of March 2009, anticipating his first summer in three years off therapy. A mere 2 months later, a routine follow-up scan detected neuroblastoma tumors in his skull and chest. Since this discovery in June of 2009, Patrick has enrolled in a phase I trial for a promising new chemotherapy agent. Despite being denied a hospital-free summer, which is not much to ask for from a 6 year-old boy, he has not complained about his re-entry into the cancer battle. He has accepted hospitalizations and medications. He has embraced baldness. He has maximized every fun moment he can find with his sisters, Madison and Anna. He is a warrior again, but his life is not defined by the battle. Some days, it seems her life, however, IS defined by the battle. Despite her own health challenges, she has helped to organize a major concert that raised over $32,000 for childhood cancer research. Every year she buys and pots over 400 flowering bulbs to sell during the holidays to raise additional research funds. She takes time out of her day to speak at garden clubs, Exchange Clubs, Rotary Clubs... any group who is willing to be educated by her about the number one disease killer of our children, the potential killer of her grandson. She visits the parents of other children with cancer and provides support to them in their own time of need. She is relentless in her quest. Her name is Kris Gordon; she is my mom and she is amazing. September 8th is my mom's birthday, and I am asking you to help me honor her with a donation to Press On: The Patrick R. Chance Fund for Neuroblastoma Research of CURE Childhood Cancer.
About September & CURE'S Kids Conquer Cancer One Day at a Time: September is recognized as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. This September, CURE Childhood Cancer has committed to raising awareness and raising money to help find a cure for childhood cancer in our lifetime and put an end to this terrible disease through a special program CURE's Kids Conquer Cancer One Day at a Time! Please help us in our goal of raising $30,000 in the month of September while honoring special CURE kids each day of the month who have been effected by childhood cancer. For more information, please click here. About CURE Childhood Cancer: Founded in 1975, CURE Childhood Cancer is dedicated to conquering childhood cancer through research, education and support of patients and their families. Since its establishment as a grass-roots organization, CURE has focused its efforts on improving the care, quality of life, and survival rate of children with cancer. The founders, parents and a dedicated pediatric oncologist, joined forces to support laboratory research that would translate into immediate care for children with cancer. Since that time, CURE has raised millions of dollars to fund cutting edge research at the Aflac Cancer Center Blood Disorders Service at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine. Through innovative programming, CURE also provides support for stricken families, providing them comfort and support during their time of devastating need. Visit us online at www.curechildhoodcancer.org for more information.
Also, we wanted to give a special thanks to all of our offline donors. We appreciate your support!
Andrea Glover = $100.00 Danielle Sansone = $50.00 Stella Caffrey = $100.00 Shell Berry = $50.00 Jimmy Aranda = $100.00 Jim Waters = $50.00 Anne Chance = $100.00 *The total for all offline donations is reflected in the offline donation box.
