Childhood cancer
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had the immense pleasure of spending time with the wonderful people from The Kids Cancer Project (TKCP) here in Sydney.
I gave a talk to the gang at TKCP and told them all about what I’ve been up to. It was great meeting them and I learned so much. I also made some great new friends in Robert and Stuart who I know I will be keeping in touch with for the rest of my life.
On Tuesday Robert and I went to the Westmead Children’s hospital to visit the oncology ward. We were met and shown around by an incredibly lovely girl called Aimee who is the hospital Oncology Fundraising Administrator.
We were shown around the treatment rooms and the wonderful facilities that they have their for kids going through treatment. The bubble light machine was our favourite! When the kids first come into hospital they get to choose a beautiful quilt to keep for life. I love this idea as I also had a special blanket which I still have to this day.
The Kids Cancer Project also sell teddy bears where all the proceeds go to funding medical research into childhood cancers. You can also donate a bear to a child in hospital. The bear goes to a sick child and the money to research. AMAZING! TKCP give out bears to 50 Australian children’s hospitals. Myself, Aimee and Robert spent the morning giving out bears to the kids at hospital.
It was such an amazing morning watching the kids eyes light up when we gave them a bear. I also went round and had a little chat with the kids and their parents telling them that I was also very ill once but now I’m big and strong (turkey legs!:) and travelling the world. I also showed the kids a photo of me when I had no hair and I asked them what hairstyle they were going to have when it grew back. A little boy called Kylo who was 7 looked up at my hair and said “spikey”. An excellent choice Kylo!:) x
Pictured is me and a little boy called Nicklaus who was showing me his cool ‘Mercedes Benz’ style scar. So much cooler than any of mine!:)
This hospital was fantastic and the The kids Cancer Project give $1 million a year to fund the specialist research lab into children’s cancer. Stuart and his lovely sister Jane hold a fundraiser every year and raise a whopping $80,000 for the TKCP. Jane is also a cancer survivor and they both wanted to do some good for a charity they believed in so got involved with TKCP.
The types of cancer in children are different to that of adults. Childhood cancer can very rarely be prevented so the only way to improve outcomes for children is through medical research. I was 7 when I was first diagnosed and that was just a cell that went bad. I don’t think it had anything to do with nutrition or stress back then. I was just unlucky.
Quality of life
The TKCP not only fund vital research into the cure of cancers but also into research into treatment that improves the quality of life in survivors. It is well know that the life long side effects are far more devastating in children than they are in adults. I’m probably the perfect example of that in that I’ve had DVT and bowel cancer as a result of the amount of radiotherapy I had as a child….which was a lot!
Researchers are now coming up with new treatments which will hopefully lead to radiotherapy being a thing of the past.
With an organisation like the Kids Cancer Project around the future is looking very bright for children’s cancer.
If you would like to learn more about The Kids Cancer Project then please see the link below.
http://www.thekidscancerproject.org.au/Home.aspx
If you would like to buy a bear for yourself or donate a bear to a sick child then please see link below. All money goes to funding research for children’s cancer and the bears will be dished out in time for Christmas:-
http://www.thekidscancerproject.org.au/Products/Bears-for-Purchase.aspx
An amazing organisation which is filled with wonderful people who are doing incredible things. I’m so honoured to be associated with The Kids Cancer Project.
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If you have a free minute please also sign this petition and help childhood cancer research become a national priority. It is imperative that more research it devoted to childhood cancer:
https://www.change.org/p/the-australian-senate-to-make-pediatric-cancer-research-a-national-priority-and-require-the-development-of-a-national-plan-for-the-advancement-of-childhood-cancer-research?share_id=NhcWBhEeIc&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition