The Bay Area Shines Gold for Kids with Cancer
This September, communities across the Bay Area rally to support innovation, families, and the fight against childhood cancer.
Every day in the U.S., 42 families hear the words no parent ever wants to hear: “your child has cancer.”
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to shine a spotlight on the difficult realities of pediatric cancer and to strengthen support for children, families, and the medical teams working tirelessly to save lives. It’s an opportunity for all of us to put compassion into action.
This month, we honor the courage of children in treatment, the strength of survivors, the families walking alongside them, the memory of children whose lives were cut short, and the doctors, nurses, care teams and researchers dedicated to finding cures.
While survival rates have been steadily increasing for the past 50 years, according to the American Cancer Society, cancer still causes more deaths in children ages 1 to 14 than any other disease in the U.S.
Here in the Bay Area, families turn to world-class institutions such as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. These hospitals, in partnership with community organizations and hospitality houses, provide life-saving treatment and support to children and families every day.
Increased awareness brings hope – not just here, but for children everywhere. By supporting research, promising treatments, and programs that give families access to care, we move closer to a world where no child has to die from cancer.
More than 18 million cancer survivors in the U.S. are living with and beyond their disease. UCSF has just announced that they will share their expertise by training one of Mexico’s first molecular pediatric pathologists, providing access to better diagnosis and treatment to benefit thousands of children battling cancer in Mexico every year.
This progress shows us what’s possible when compassion and science come together, but awareness alone isn’t enough. Here’s how you can turn compassion into action this September:
- Contact your representatives and urge them to support policies and funding for pediatric cancer research.
- Volunteer with hospitals, non-profit organizations that provide cancer support, or hospitality houses like Family House San Francisco, which provide homes-away-from-home for families whose children are in treatment.
- Offer practical help to families whose children are undergoing treatment in your community – meals, transportation, childcare, or simply a listening ear.
- Bridge empathy into impact by attending a local awareness or fundraising event in the Bay Area this month, including events hosted by the Giants, St. Jude’s, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and Swim Across America.
- Wear the gold ribbon – the international symbol of childhood cancer awareness, because children are precious.
- Support the medical and research communities working to advance life-saving treatments and family-centered care.
This September, let’s shine gold. Stand with children and families. Support our hospitals and researchers. Help turn awareness into action, and action into hope.
Katherine Thompson
CEO, Family House
San Francisco, CA