Cancer is a horrible disease that affects thousands of children every day. Although childhood cancer is rare, it’s the leading cause of disease-related deaths in children and adolescents, with approximately 1,800 kids in the United States dying from it each year. Every September, healthcare institutions, organizations, and child cancer patients and their families raise awareness for childhood cancer.
5 Ways You Can Help Support Childhood Cancer Awareness
By raising awareness, people can be educated about the disease and encouraged to help fund childhood cancer research so that kids can get better treatment. Spreading awareness also gives children with cancer hope since they know they aren’t alone in this battle. To help more people better understand childhood cancer, here are five things you can do to support childhood cancer awareness month this September.
Wear Accessories and Apparel that Help Spread the Awareness
One of the easiest ways to make people more aware of childhood cancer is to wear accessories and apparel that provide information about the disease. Wearing t-shirts with eye-catching “support kids with cancer” designs or silicone wristbands with “#SupportKidsWithCancer” can grab people’s attention. When someone asks you about your apparel, you have the opportunity to educate them about childhood cancer, making one more person aware of the disease. It’s better to purchase childhood cancer awareness merchandise from organizations that help kids fight cancer, so your money can go to a good cause.
Donate to a Children’s Cancer Charity
Donating to children’s cancer charities is a great way to support them directly. Your money will help fund their research to develop more ways to improve child cancer patients’ and survivors’ quality of life. There are a lot of children’s cancer charities to choose from, so you can either donate a considerable sum to one or spread your money across several charities. Here’s a list of children’s cancer charities, foundations, and centers you can donate to:
- The Children’s Cancer Foundation, Inc.
- Children’s Cancer Center
- The National Children’s Cancer Society
- National Pediatric Cancer Foundation
- Children’s Cancer Research Fund
Attend Childhood Cancer Fundraisers and Events
Since childhood cancer awareness month in September, many organizations and foundations will host events and fundraising campaigns. They organize these events to spread disease awareness and get funds for their research and projects. Attending any childhood cancer fundraiser or event is a great way to show your support. You can also bring your friends and family along so that more people can be aware of them. These events allow you to learn more about the disease and listen to the stories of childhood cancer survivors and their families. In a way, attending these events can help you realize how difficult life is for kids with cancer, giving you more reason to fight for the cause.
Volunteer at a Children’s Cancer Hospital
Donating your time is a valuable gift to many kids with cancer. When you try to visit and spend time with the children, you help make them forget about the effects of cancer–even if it’s just for a moment. Children experiencing end-stage cancer will also appreciate knowing that many people care and think about them during their final moments.
However, volunteering at a children’s cancer hospital is more than just playing with the kids and reading them stories. You can also drive patients who need transportation to their destinations and help hospital staff with their day-to-day responsibilities, like doing the laundry and feeding the children.
Share Your Advocacy through Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool that can help you quickly spread awareness of childhood cancer. Using your social media accounts, you can post your experience attending children’s cancer awareness events or your volunteer work at a children’s cancer center and share them with the world. Social media allows you to share your advocacy through various forms of media, like videos and photos, to make them more engaging. This way, people are likelier to like, share, and interact with your posts.
Some social media platforms also participate in celebrating childhood cancer awareness month by letting you decorate your profile page with the colors and symbols that represent childhood cancer awareness. One example is adding a gold ribbon to your profile picture. The gold ribbon is an internationally recognized symbol of childhood cancer.
Ways You Can Help Support Childhood Cancer Awareness Month This September
It’s heartbreaking news when you learn that a child has cancer. This disease is known to be unforgiving, and having to face it at such a tender age can demoralize kids. Fortunately, you can help spread hope and encourage cancer children never to give up. By supporting and spreading childhood cancer awareness, you and millions of people can light up a child’s life and give them the strength to overcome cancer.
