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Why We Support Camp Ronald McDonald For Good Times®

September 9, 2015

About 10,380 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2015. Because of major treatment advances in recent decades, more than 80% of children with cancer now survive 5 years or more. Even so, cancer is the second leading cause of death in children (after accidents). About 1,250 children younger than 15 years old are expected to die from cancer in 2015. Survival rates vary depending on the type of cancer and the fight can be long, painful, and arduous.

Unlike many cancers common in adults, there are few lifestyle or environmental-related risk factors (such as smoking) that are known to influence a child’s risk of getting pediatric cancer. Most childhood cancers are the result of DNA changes that happen early in a child’s life, sometimes even before birth. Every time a cell prepares to divide into 2 new cells, it must copy its DNA. This process isn’t perfect, and errors sometimes occur, especially when the cells are growing quickly.
The most common pediatric cancers often differ from those seen in adults. They include:
•    Leukemias, cancers of the bone marrow and blood, which are the most common pediatric cancers, accounting for about 30% of all cancers in children.
•    Brain and central nervous system tumors are the second most common cancers in children, making up about 26% of pediatric cancers.
•    Neuroblastomas which account for about 6% of pediatric cancers. This type of cancer occurs in infants and young children and is rarely found in children older than 10.
Numerous other types of cancer make up the rest.
Pediatric cancer treatment is usually offered to children from birth to age 18 or in some cases up to 21. In the United States, most children with cancer are treated at a center that is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), supported by the National Cancer Institute. These centers offer the advantage of being treated by a team of specialists who know the differences between adult and pediatric cancers, as well as the unique needs of children and teens with cancer and their families.
While these exceptional centers meet the medical needs of children with cancer, it is up to organizations like Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® to address the emotional and psychological needs of children and their families. And, while nothing can compensate for the anguish that childhood cancer inflicts, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times has helped thousands of children and their family members recapture hope, enthusiasm, and love of life in a medically and psychologically safe environment created especially for them.

We hope you join us in supporting this vital organization.
~Michael and Frida Donner
Learn more about pediatric cancer and about Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times on their websites.