Cancer is the leading cause of disease related death in children, killing more than asthma, diabetes, AIDS, and cystic fibrosis combined. On average, one child every 2 days in Canada dies from cancer (ages 0-19). In Saskatchewan alone, there were 64 children diagnosed with cancer in 2017. While there has been remarkable improvements in some paediaric cancers over the past 40 years, there is still alot of work to be done especially on the most difficult to treat cancers, like Naomi's stage 4 rhbdomyosarcoma.
These kids are stronger than these cancers but the cancers are stronger than the science currently fighting them and that needs to change. Team Naomi's mission has been to fund science on the paediatric cancers that have been largely ignored over the past 40 years. We need to change the conversation in that room for future childhood cancer families.
When we learned of the Terry Fox PROFYLE program (Precision Oncology For Young People) it just made sense in our heads and our hearts to direct funds to this program as it mimics our own mission.
Research is the Answer. Fundraising is the Lock. Awareness is the Key.