Since creating the Hearts for Healing Project in 2015, I have provided care packages and financial aid to countless families with chronically ill or hospitalized children, many of whom are battling cancer. Though the circumstances of our interactions have often been bleak, they have allowed me to form relationships with many of these families, and thereby see the reality of their day-to-day lives and the havoc that childhood cancer can wreak. Childhood cancer is demon-like, invading the body of innocent children and leaving permanent mental and physical scars.

Equally horrible are the available treatments. These treatments are highly outdated adult therapies that have not been modified since the 1960s. Due to the potent nature of many of these treatment options, such as chemotherapy, many childhood cancer patients and survivors suffer from late effects. The spinal cord and brain are often plagued by late effects, including headaches, loss of coordination, and seizures. As I did, you may wonder why this technology has not advanced. This lack of safe treatments is due to a shortage of funding for childhood cancer research. In fact, according to nationalpcf.org, only four percent of the billions of dollars the government spends annually on cancer research is directed towards research for creating treatments for childhood cancer.

These children deserve more than four percent of this funding! Please sign this petition to increase funding for childhood cancer research. This will produce more effective treatments for pediatric cancer and create more favorable long-term outcomes, including in cancer survivors' mental states. Every child deserves a fighting chance!

*the cover photo is Penny, a brave leukemia warrior, who we have featured on our Instagram account before*