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1Voice Foundation began in 2008 when several members of the Tampa community that had been dealing strictly with the research and clinical trial portion of childhood cancer recognized a need for family input and interaction. They immediately reached out to a group of mothers of children that had been diagnosed with childhood cancer and lost their battle. Through their battle, this group of mothers identified several needs they had when their child was diagnosed with this terrible disease and felt there were several shortcomings that needed to be addressed. It then became the vision of this foundation, with the support of these amazing moms, to band together and unite as one voice in battling childhood cancer in honor of their own children and the countless others that are currently fighting this disease. The 1Voice Foundation recognized key areas that needed to come together under ONE organization in order to make a dramatic impact on childhood cancer both nationally and worldwide.
Upon diagnosis, these children and their families embark on an unfathomable journey of chemotherapy, radiation, scans, tests and oftentimes surgery. This journey is filled with much fear, many tears and countless questions. Currently, there is no one website, no one resource that parents of children with cancer can turn to for information upon diagnosis or during their treatment. They are thrown into a world of the unknown. While there are countless websites on the internet that provide facts and information about childhood cancer, it is extraordinarily difficult to find information about specific treatment protocols, clinical trials that are taking place for specific forms of cancer or which hospitals specialize in your child’s form of cancer.
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the entire family is diagnosed. The notion of normalcy is changed forever. Families have to take on new routines – sports, dance, and play time are replaced by chemotherapy, radiation, blood transfusions and hospital stays. Finances are often stretched beyond their limits, as are marriages. Families need support beyond what they get from other family members and the hospitals. Emotionally and financially it is incredibly taxing, but they still need a quality of life to help them endure the dramatic development and to help them cope with the disease while treatment is taking place.
According to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine, research for childhood cancer is at a near standstill. While we have seen tremendous advances in the treatment of diseases like Leukemia, the simple fact is that we are still losing precious young lives to cancer. The standard protocol for children with cancer includes chemotherapy, radiation and oftentimes surgery or bone marrow transplants. These treatments are toxic to all of the cells in the human body and even when they are successful in attacking the cancer, they leave children who survive the disease with weakened immune systems and secondary health complications. Additionally, survivors of childhood cancer face an increased risk of developing another form of cancer in early adulthood.
With so many different forms of childhood cancer, we recognize that the cure will not come in one form. There is much to be done in the world of childhood cancer research and right now there is simply not enough funding.
Only 4% of all cancer research funding is spent on pediatric research. |
