North Adams Recognizes Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Some 43 children are diagnosed with cancer every day. More than 100,000 children under the age of 15 are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States alone.
The figures are staggering. More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer every day and, while the survival rate is high at 83 percent, more than half of survivors develop health problems related to their treatment.
"The statistics around childhood cancer are shocking," said Kathy Arabia last week. "We were unaware of the statistics ourselves until we were impacted."
The impact becomes clearer when realizing "the numbers are names."
"Think about them more instead of in terms of numbers, in terms of children's names," she said. "We could name children. Lots and lots of children. Way too many names of kids that we have met, that we have loved that have been impacted by this disease."
Arabia and her husband, Joe, spoke at last week's City Council meeting about September being Child Cancer Awareness Month. Marked by the color gold, the month is designated to bring issues of cancer related to children and families to the forefront and to raise funds for research and support.
The Arabias have become cancer awareness advocates after their daughter, Anna Yan Ji Arabia who developed gliomatosis cerebri, a rare and aggressive brain cancer. When Anna Yan was diagnosed, there was no significant research into this disease. She died in 2013 at age 16.
Her parents launched the AYJ Fund to support other families affected by this cancer and research into gliomatosis cerebri and other brain cancers. Children with some brain cancers have less than a 1 percent chance of survival.
The fund was one of five to support the first International Gliomatosis Cerebri Conference in Paris last year. In the spring, the fund donated $10,000 to Weill Cornell Medical College for analyzing tissue samples
"We continue our efforts to find a cure," Joe Arabia told the council. He referred the council and television audience to the AYJ Fund website for more information.
Most recently, the fund raised $12,500 at its annual cornhole tournament in July and provided cheer for some children suffering from cancer; Kathy Arabia advocated on Capitol Hill for cancer patients, and Anna's Army will be participating in Sunday's Jimmy Fund Walk in Boston.
The couple had approached Mayor Richard Alcombright about a resolution in support of Child Cancer Awareness Month, which he read into the record on Tuesday.
"We have received wonderful support from this community," said Kathy Arabia. "It's been wonderful, amazing, and it's really made a difference ...
"The advocacy is what's going to make a difference in funding and eventually finding treatment that will work and not hurt our kids."
Tags: awareness event, cancer,
