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The
summer of 2004 was odd in that our 16 year old son declined some
opportunities to wake board and go tubing at the lake. He made the
occasional comment about pain . . in hindsight we should have paid more
attention though an xray two years earlier was said to be OK . . . Then
during goalie camp towards the end of the summer it was strange that he
found it difficult to do some of his classic goalie moves, though his saves
were still pretty good. . . . and so the journey began . . . another trip
to the family doctor in August 2004 . . . . Many pages could be written
between then and December 17, 2004 - Dad's birthday. That birthday will be
memorable as it was the day our son began treatment for a very aggressive
cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, the day that our world as we'd known it came
crashing down.
FACTS:
What is Sarcoma?
● Sarcoma is a cancer of
the connective tissues such as nerves, muscles, cartilage, joints, bone or
blood vessels.
● There are about 50
subtypes of sarcoma including Ewing’s sarcoma.
● It can appear anywhere
on the body and affects young, old, and people in every country of the world
"Sarcoma knows no borders".
How many people have sarcoma?
● About 1% of adult
cancers are sarcomas.
● 15 – 20% of all
children’s cancers are sarcomas.
●
There
are hundreds of thousands of people and their families affected worldwide.
What
is the treatment for sarcomas?
● Chemotherapy, combined
with surgery to remove the tumour if possible and/or radiation.
Why are sarcomas dangerous?
● They are often
misdiagnosed. Sometimes they are thought to be sports injuries.
● Sarcomas are often
very aggressive and fast growing cancers and when they are diagnosed have
often grown very large and spread to other parts of the body (metastasized).
● Many resist
treatments that are currently used.
What is needed?
●
Research
is desperately needed to investigate the cause, prevention, early diagnoses
and targeted therapies for sarcoma and other cancers that will not
cause devastating long term damage.
What are we doing?
●
The Team Sarcoma
Initiative is an internationally coordinated set of events to raise
awareness of sarcoma and raise funds to support sarcoma research, clinical
trials, and patient and family services. The annual effort consists of
local events that are held worldwide. Team Sarcoma events are planned by
individuals, communities, advocacy groups and organizations striving to make
a difference in the lives of everyone affected by sarcoma. The initiative
has become an International Sarcoma Awareness Week, with over 16,000 people
participating worldwide in 2009.
Do your 'S' for Sarcoma is
one of these international events. We hope that we can encourage more
Canadians to participate this year to contribute to this international
effort.
What can you do?
-
Help to
increase awareness about childhood and adolescent cancers such as
sarcomas.
Sarcoma is considered to be "the forgotten cancer" – though 15-20% of all
childhood cancers are sarcomas, there is comparatively little research
done on sarcomas or adolescent and young adult cancers compared to some
of the more well known cancers.
a) View the video "The Forgotten Cancer" at
http://www.team-sarcoma.net/?p=1166
b) Pass the link on to your friends and family so they will learn about
sarcoma.
-
Support the enrolment of children,
adolescents and young adults in cancer related clinical trials
as statistics show that the outlook is often better for those given
the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.
-
Understand that when a child or
adolescent survives cancer, the impact on both the affected and their
families goes on both physically and psychologically for many years.
The cancer diagnosis and treatment are only the beginning . . .
It is estimated that there is an average 70 years of life lost for any child
who does not survive
their disease compared to an average of 9 years of life lost for an adult
cancer.
For those
who survive this means many more years of suffering the after effects of
treatment.
-
Form
a "Team Sarcoma" where you are . . .
Do Your 'S' for SARCOMA
before
or during
International Sarcoma Awareness week July
17 to 25, 2010 to
help make hundreds of thousands of people aware of this devastating and
often deadly cancer.
To find out how to officially register
your participation click here.
Go to
http://www.team-sarcoma.net/?page_id=19
to get more
information on planning your own “Team Sarcoma”.
Remember this can be as small or as large as you want it to be -wouldn’t
it be great if ordinary people could bridge the gap and increase awareness
to thousands more around the world about the need for more knowledge in
dealing with sarcoma and other childhood cancers including
prevention, early detection, less toxic treatments, and dealing with the
devastating aftermath of current treatments?
-
→Sponsor a Team Sarcoma
(Click here for
Pledge Form) or make a donation to the Kids with
Cancer Society
"The Kids with Cancer Society"
Encourage
family, friends, schools or businesses in your area to support your efforts
by sponsoring you with a tax deductible donation to
The Kids with Cancer Society, Team Sarcoma Edmonton.
Donation to the
Kids with Cancer
Society will support diagnosis, treatment, family support and
research.
Mail
in cheques directly, pay on line or over the phone by credit card.
Make out your
cheque to:
Kids
with Cancer Society,
'Do Your S for
Sarcoma'
Mail to: Do Your S for Sarcoma
Kids with Cancer Society
11135-84 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 0V9
Credit Card by
phone 780 496-2459 or Fax: 780 496-245 780, or go to
https://www.canadahelps.org/DonationDetails.aspx?cookieCheck=true
and
enter 'Do Your S for Sarcoma' in the Message/Instructions
box.
Questions: please email
info@kidswithcancer.ca or phone 780 496-2459
Note:
Administrative costs of The Kids with Cancer Society are very much lower than 'industry' standards. They do
not participate in telemarketing activities or the use of external
fundraising organizations.
Sincere thanks for your support
The Team Sarcoma Canada logo was created to represent the many places where
sarcoma can appear in the body . . . invading connective tissues such as
bone, tendons, muscles, nerves, blood vessels and other cells. An
analogy is made as to how sarcoma infiltrates our world population affecting
people of various ages, ethnicities, geographic locations, social and
economic circumstances . . . as the Liddy Shriver Initiative so aptly
describes ... SARCOMA KNOWS NO BORDERS!. The International Sarcoma Awareness Week is
organized by
Liddy Shriver
Sarcoma Initiative
17 Bethea
Drive
Ossining, NY
10562-1620
Phone:
914.762.3251, Fax: 914.941.9181
email
info@liddyshriversarcomainitiative.org
100%
of the money raised will go towards childhood and adolescent cancer &
sarcoma research.
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