One Step At A Time...

I didn’t know him very long, but he changed my life.  He changed me as a person.  He broke my heart and healed it all at once.  He lit a fire in my soul to change the world that I didn’t even know existed. 

www.rockstarronan.com
The Ronan Thompson Foundation

He died.

They make me want to change the world.  To break down doors, to bust down barriers, to not take no for an answer.  I want to make them proud of me.  I want them to grow old with their own beautiful families.  

I do not want them to die before me.

Children’s cancer research is grossly underfunded and it’s time for it to stop.  Our babies deserve a voice, they deserve us to never stop fighting for them.  They need advocates, and it’s our responsibility as an older generation to never give up on them and FIGHT, because they cannot do these things on their own.  We brought them into this world, we must never give up on them.  We owe this to them.

I don’t need an urn full of ashes to make me want to fight.  Imagining it...fuck...that is gut-wrenching enough for me to want to DO SOMETHING.

I found this website

Who We Are

The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) is the world’s largest, cooperative children’s cancer research entity. It brings together treatment centers, physicians, laboratory scientists, nurses, psychologists and others working to beat cancer in children, adolescents and young adults. Through collaborative research, the Children’s Oncology Group has improved rates for children’s cancer at a pace much faster than any one individual or single institution could accomplish alone. The Children’s Oncology Group research has turned children’s cancer from a virtually incurable disease 40 years ago to one with an overall cure rate of 78 percent today.
Despite major advancements in recent years, much work remains to find treatments and cures for children’s cancer. Cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children and two-thirds of patients have life-altering and life-threatening side effects from the currently available treatments. Children’s Oncology Group research efforts are focused on many types of cancer including those that are hardest to treat, as well as reducing complications that result from treatment.
The Children’s Oncology Group is chaired by Peter Adamson, MD. Dr. Adamson is Chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Director of the Office of Clinical and Translational Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Susan Blaney, MD is vice chair of the Children’s Oncology Group. Dr. Blaney is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Deputy Director of Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers.

What We Do

Children’s Oncology Group:

• designs and conducts about 100 clinical trials annually to find the best treatments for children and adolescents with cancer;
• conducts laboratory research that will translate into more effective treatments with reduced side effects;
• looks for the causes of childhood cancer with the goal of one day preventing cancer;
• conducts research to improve quality of life and survivorship; and
• seeks international partnerships, when necessary, to fulfill its mission.

Our History
Children’s Oncology Group was formed in 2000 when four pediatric cancer clinical trials groups joined forces. Comprised of 210 treatment centers in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, COG includes more than 6,500 individual members. The COG receives funding from the national non-profit foundation, CureSearch for Children’s Cancer which receives grants from the National Cancer Institute and raises funds through philanthropic donations from individuals, special events, corporations and private foundations.
Children’s Oncology Group hospitals treat 90 percent of children with cancer in the United States, providing the unmatched combination of global expertise and local care. This means that every child and care team has complete access to the latest research and world-class treatments at hospitals within close to home.

Why is Collaborative Research Important?

While nearly 13,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year, there are many different kinds of children’s cancer. When divided into the specific cancer types, the number of children with each is relatively small. In research, large numbers of patients are critical to ensuring that study results are meaningful. By enrolling patients from many hospitals in the same trial, the results become statistically significant. This approach is called collaborative research and is how the Children’s Oncology Group functions.

Get Involved!  

On the curesearch.org site (click here) you can join (free) the advocate group.  Once you fill in your info, it gives you the contact info for your local congressman.  You can set aside time each week to contact your congressman.  They work for us!  It’s time WE tell THEM what we WANT.

I’m on a personal quest, although my journey is for millions.  Help me.  

DO SOMETHING with me.

With all this being said, I’m walking in the CureSearch Walk for Children’s Cancer in February of 2012 in Phoenix.  Right now, I’m a one-man team.  If you’re local, I’d love for you to join my team:  One Step At A Time.  My team goal is $5000.  If I can raise this $5000, it goes directly to Children’s Cancer Research…all of it.  Not just 3%, not just 50%...it all goes to the kids.  I know times are tough, but if you could just give up one treat for yourself (a coffee, a meal, a mani/pedi, etc. and donate it to this great cause, I would be forever grateful.  Together we can make a difference.   One Step At A Time.

Go here to donate: 
http://www.curesearchwalk.org/phoenix/dosomething

In the words of Ben Lee...

What’s in your heart
What’s in your head
It’s one or the other these days
The quick or the dead

Sometimes we gotta fight
So don’t you complain
Cuz I never promised this would be easy babe

You and me gonna rise up
And they will be surprised yup

Everything’s weird
Soon they’ll be gone
Cuz our whispered words
Are louder than bombs

So don’t you lose faith
And say it’s no fun
Cuz we’ve come too far to stop
Before we’re done

You and me gonna rise up
And they will be surprised yup

Sometimes we get lost
But soon we’ll be found
This is far too important
To turn back now

You and me gonna rise up
And they will be surprised yup

♥ ♥ ♥

Olivia