Donating money is a thoughtful gesture when you want to do something good for the world.
Many causes need extra funding, but experts researching childhood cancer may need your help the most.
Read about these reasons to support childhood cancer research to learn why the industry could use more financial support today and every day.
1. There Are Numerous Types of Cancers
There aren’t just one or two types of cancer that affect children.
Experts estimate that doctors diagnose kids with 12 variations of cancer annually, which can morph into subtypes depending on a child’s genetic makeup.
The long list of known cancers requires more research funding for multiple trials per variation.
Public donations help make those trials possible and get kids closer to cures for their specific diagnoses.
2. Kids Die From Cancer Every Year
Many people think that adult cancer departments and research teams need more funding because adults are diagnosed with cancer more often than kids.
While that’s true, 1,800 kids die from cancer annually and deserve the chance to live long lives.
When more people donate to childhood cancer research, that number will shrink so fewer families experience such tragic loss.
3. Donations Can Bring Communities Together
There are many ways to support childhood cancer research with donations, but sending money through a virtual link may not seem very exciting.
Partnering with an organization that turns donations into events is a much more fun way to bring everyone together.
You could create a cancer research event that hosts games for kids or donates food to people in need near your home.
Everyone will come together to support cancer research when they can do something fun with the people they love.
4. Trials Are Restricted
When someone mentions that 15,000 kids receive cancer diagnoses each year, the massive number is shocking.
Then people often hear that experts estimate 1.9 million new adult cancer cases in the same time frame.
Much of the industry research funding goes toward adult trials because the patient count is so expansive, but kids need trials too.
If more people supported childhood cancer research every year, additional trials for various potential treatments would get started.
Kids would reach better treatments and possible cures long before they could at the rate trials begin now.
5. Research Happens Slowly
Research teams that receive funding will get much less financial support than trials for adult cancer patients.
Less funding means there will likely be smaller test groups and potentially pauses in testing while researchers try to raise more funding.
An increase in donations to groups that want to find treatments for childhood cancer would help these trials stay on track and find solutions more quickly.
6. Many Parents Don’t Think About It
No one wants to think about their loved ones dying, especially parents and children.
No parent ever wants to think about their kids developing cancer, leading to cases where they skip potential testing if their family history puts them at a higher risk.
Although there aren’t many preventative screening measures, checking in with a pediatrician frequently can catch potential cancers while they’re still treatable.
Parents may also avoid thinking about childhood cancer and never learn the symptoms.
They could easily miss common signs of cancer in kids like:
- Unusual swelling or lumps
- Loss of energy
- Easy bruising
- Unexplained fevers
- Unexpected weight loss
If communities come together to support childhood cancer research, they would initiate more conversations around the topic.
Parents would participate in helpful discussions and learn everything they need to know to keep their kids healthy.
7. Childhood Cancer Creates Adult Health Issues
Even if a kid beats their cancer diagnosis and successfully enters the remission stage, it can complicate their lives later.
Statistics show that 80% of children treated for cancer live at least five years or longer after their diagnosis.
Survivors are likely to endure health complications later in life related to the specific cancer they had and which treatments they tried.
When survivors reach their teenage or adult years, they often experience late side effects like:
- Learning problems
- Thyroid problems
- Abnormal bone growth
- Vision problems
- Hearing loss
- Heart complications
- Dental issues
- Additional cancers
Researchers currently don’t know exactly what causes these health complications for childhood cancer patients.
More funding would help them run tests and trials to get that information to doctors.
8. Kids Can’t Help Themselves
When adults get a cancer diagnosis, they can reach out for help after processing the news. Kids don’t have the same luxury.
They may not grasp why they’re going to the hospital and why their treatments make them sick if they’re too young.
They also have to rely on their parents to translate information and seek the best help.
Giving money to research teams won’t make young kids know how to take care of themselves through their cancer treatments, but it will make help more readily available to families.
It’s essential that everyone gets the support they need when a child has to fight cancer. Increased funding would make treatments more widely available, more cost-efficient and faster at curing kids.
Support Childhood Cancer Research
Everyone should learn these reasons to support childhood cancer research.
When people know updated statistics, they’ll feel empowered and encouraged to help in any way they can.
Donating through community fundraisers or donation sites will pull everyone together and make the future brighter for kids with cancer.