billy

Our Mission KRISTINA'S RAINBOWS OF HOPE is dedicated to * creating public awareness for childhood cancers and blood disorders * giving hope to children and families that are presently coping with a diagnosis of cancer * funding research to find the cure for these life threatening illnesses The first step to finding a cure for these life threatening diseases is to understand that they exist, that these illnesses affect real children and devastate their families. These children live in our communities and go to the school down the street. These children are connected to us and are a part of our lives. It is our desire to touch the lives of these children and their families by offering them hope for today and hope for the future. We pledge to never forget the daily battle they must face and we are dedicated to give them the emotional and financial support that they need to face the challenges ahead. Our ultimate goal is to create awareness that will help fund research that will lead to a cure for ALL childhood cancers and blood disorders so that these hideous diseases will be eradicated forever. Childhood Cancer Awareness There are many ways that you can become active in being a childhood cancer awareness advocate. There are many websites that can give you information on ways to help bring attention to children with cancer and blood disorders. Listed below are a few links that will give you information about nationally organized events. Remember that September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. www.curesearch.org - CureSearch www.childhoodcancerawareness.org www.acor.org - Pediatric Oncology Resource Center One of the most recent activities is to create a US postage stamp for childhood cancer awareness. Please write to your US Representative. For more information, sample letters and information on how to locate and contact your Congressional representative go to: www.kidscancerstamp.org In New Jersey, there are many support organizations that work with the Pediatric-Hematology-Oncology Medical facilities in the state. In 2002, The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recognized the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only facility in New Jersey to be so rated and one of 39 centers in the United States. The Institute for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders, is a nonprofit, volunteer organization founded in 1990. This organization is committed to enhance and support the quality of life and care for children with cancer and blood disorders. The group provides support services to the children who are being treated at CINJ and the Bristol Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at RWJUH as well as their families. Fund raising events are held throughout the year. For more information on how to lend your support go to: www.theinstituteforchildren.org Many people do not want to associate cancer with children. It is just an unthinkable horror. It’s easy to dismiss the idea by saying, “This will never happen to my child.” Unfortunately, it happens more often than we’d like to believe. According to the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, one in every four elementary schools has a child with cancer. While many children are cured, there are still many children who will die. It is said: When you lose your parents you are an orphan. When you lose your spouse you are a widow(er). There is no name for a parent who loses their child because it is just too unspeakable. I’ve learned that I am not the only parent who has ever lost a child, who has had to deal with the unspeakable. There are many who walk around carrying this burden. I’ve made a conscious choice to try and make something positive come out of this agonizing loss. I do not stand alone. Here is a list of other organizations that were created out of a similar heart-wrenching experience: www.kylie.org www.lainiesangels.com www.alexslemonade.com Childhood Cancer Facts * Childhood cancers are the #1 disease killer of children - more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. * Childhood cancer is not a single disease, but rather many different types that fall into 12 major categories. Common adult cancers are extremely rare in children, yet many cancers are almost exclusively found in children. * Childhood Cancers are cancers that primarily affect children, teens, and young adults. When cancer strikes children and young adults it affects them differently than it would an adult. * Attempts to detect childhood cancers at an earlier stage, when the disease would react more favorably to treatment, have largely failed. Young patients often have a more advanced stage of cancer when first diagnosed. (Approximately 20% of adults with cancer show evidence the disease has spread, yet almost 80% of children show that the cancer has spread to distant sites at the time of diagnosis). * Cancer in childhood occurs regularly, randomly, and spares no ethnic group, socioeconomic class, or geographic region. * The cause of most childhood cancers are unknown and at present, cannot be prevented. (Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, occupation, and other exposure to cancer-causing agents). * One in every 330 Americans will develop cancer by the age of 20. On the average, 12,500 children and adolescents in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year. * On the average, 1 in every 4 elementary school has a child with cancer. The average high school has two students who are a current or former cancer patient. In the U.S., about 46 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every weekday. * While the cancer death rate has dropped more dramatically for children than for any other age group, 2,300 children and teenagers will die each year from cancer. * Childhood leukemia (making up the largest group of childhood cancers) was once a certain death sentence, but now can be cured almost 80% of the time. * Today, up to 75% of the children with cancer can be cured, yet, some forms of childhood cancers have proven so resistant to treatment that, in spite of research, a cure is illusive. * Several childhood cancers continue to have a very poor prognosis, including: brain stem tumors, metastatic sarcomas, relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. |Home| |Wear a Rainbow of Hope to show you care!| |Why a Rainbow?| |The Story of the Rainbow of Hope Pin| |Kristina's Page| |Childhood Cancer Facts| |Raising Hope| |Bandanas of Hope Project| |Hope for the Hurting| |Kristina's Family and Friends| |Kristina's Rainbows of Hope Lamp| |Links| |Contact Us| Copyright 1999-2002. Positive Software Corporation. All rights reserved HomeWear a Rainbow of Hope to show you care!Why a Rainbow?The Story of the Rainbow of Hope PinKristina's PageChildhood Cancer FactsRaising HopeBandanas of Hope ProjectHope for the HurtingFriends of KristinaLinksAbout Childhood Cancer Facts Our Mission KRISTINA'S RAINBOWS OF HOPE is dedicated to * creating public awareness for childhood cancers and blood disorders * giving hope to children and families that are presently coping with a diagnosis of cancer * funding research to find the cure for these life threatening illnesses The first step to finding a cure for these life threatening diseases is to understand that they exist, that these illnesses affect real children and devastate their families. These children live in our communities and go to the school down the street. These children are connected to us and are a part of our lives. It is our desire to touch the lives of these children and their families by offering them hope for today and hope for the future. We pledge to never forget the daily battle they must face and we are dedicated to give them the emotional and financial support that they need to face the challenges ahead. Our ultimate goal is to create awareness that will help fund research that will lead to a cure for ALL childhood cancers and blood disorders so that these hideous diseases will be eradicated forever. Childhood Cancer Awareness There are many ways that you can become active in being a childhood cancer awareness advocate. There are many websites that can give you information on ways to help bring attention to children with cancer and blood disorders. Listed below are a few links that will give you information about nationally organized events. Remember that September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. www.curesearch.org - CureSearch www.childhoodcancerawareness.org www.acor.org - Pediatric Oncology Resource Center One of the most recent activities is to create a US postage stamp for childhood cancer awareness. Please write to your US Representative. For more information, sample letters and information on how to locate and contact your Congressional representative go to: www.kidscancerstamp.org In New Jersey, there are many support organizations that work with the Pediatric-Hematology-Oncology Medical facilities in the state. In 2002, The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recognized the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only facility in New Jersey to be so rated and one of 39 centers in the United States. The Institute for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders, is a nonprofit, volunteer organization founded in 1990. This organization is committed to enhance and support the quality of life and care for children with cancer and blood disorders. The group provides support services to the children who are being treated at CINJ and the Bristol Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at RWJUH as well as their families. Fund raising events are held throughout the year. For more information on how to lend your support go to: www.theinstituteforchildren.org Many people do not want to associate cancer with children. It is just an unthinkable horror. It’s easy to dismiss the idea by saying, “This will never happen to my child.” Unfortunately, it happens more often than we’d like to believe. According to the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, one in every four elementary schools has a child with cancer. While many children are cured, there are still many children who will die. It is said: When you lose your parents you are an orphan. When you lose your spouse you are a widow(er). There is no name for a parent who loses their child because it is just too unspeakable. I’ve learned that I am not the only parent who has ever lost a child, who has had to deal with the unspeakable. There are many who walk around carrying this burden. I’ve made a conscious choice to try and make something positive come out of this agonizing loss. I do not stand alone. Here is a list of other organizations that were created out of a similar heart-wrenching experience: www.kylie.org www.lainiesangels.com www.alexslemonade.com Childhood Cancer Facts * Childhood cancers are the #1 disease killer of children - more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. * Childhood cancer is not a single disease, but rather many different types that fall into 12 major categories. Common adult cancers are extremely rare in children, yet many cancers are almost exclusively found in children. * Childhood Cancers are cancers that primarily affect children, teens, and young adults. When cancer strikes children and young adults it affects them differently than it would an adult. * Attempts to detect childhood cancers at an earlier stage, when the disease would react more favorably to treatment, have largely failed. Young patients often have a more advanced stage of cancer when first diagnosed. (Approximately 20% of adults with cancer show evidence the disease has spread, yet almost 80% of children show that the cancer has spread to distant sites at the time of diagnosis). * Cancer in childhood occurs regularly, randomly, and spares no ethnic group, socioeconomic class, or geographic region. * The cause of most childhood cancers are unknown and at present, cannot be prevented. (Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, occupation, and other exposure to cancer-causing agents). * One in every 330 Americans will develop cancer by the age of 20. On the average, 12,500 children and adolescents in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year. * On the average, 1 in every 4 elementary school has a child with cancer. The average high school has two students who are a current or former cancer patient. In the U.S., about 46 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every weekday. * While the cancer death rate has dropped more dramatically for children than for any other age group, 2,300 children and teenagers will die each year from cancer. * Childhood leukemia (making up the largest group of childhood cancers) was once a certain death sentence, but now can be cured almost 80% of the time. * Today, up to 75% of the children with cancer can be cured, yet, some forms of childhood cancers have proven so resistant to treatment that, in spite of research, a cure is illusive. * Several childhood cancers continue to have a very poor prognosis, including: brain stem tumors, metastatic sarcomas, relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. |Home| |Wear a Rainbow of Hope to show you care!| |Why a Rainbow?| |The Story of the Rainbow of Hope Pin| |Kristina's Page| |Childhood Cancer Facts| |Raising Hope| |Bandanas of Hope Project| |Hope for the Hurting| |Kristina's Family and Friends| |Kristina's Rainbows of Hope Lamp| |Links| |Contact Us| Copyright 1999-2002. Positive Software Corporation. All rights reserved