"Everyone forgets about the kids," she said.
Although that woman made me initially aware of the insufficient funding for pediatric cancer research, it wasn't until I got to know a teen cancer survivor that I decided to do something to raise awareness for pediatric and adolescent cancers. Kaely (founder of Kaely's Kindness Foundation) was 16 when she was diagnosed with cancer. For some, patients are no longer pediatric once they are over 14. For other doctors, pediatric patients can be up to 19 years old, and I've even seen some go up to 21. These patients in between pediatric and adult are usually thrown into the adolescent piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately, it isn't any better to be considered an adolescent than it is to be considered a pediatric patient. Either way, national funding overlooks you, and treatments for adults are usually not helpful as adult cancers function differently than those in kids.
While Kaely was beginning her fight against cancer, she realized that teens face an extra burden during their fight because of their rapidly changing bodies (not to mention the emotional stress all teen girls deal with, compiled with that of cancer). With this, she founded Kaely's Kindness, which supports teen girls in their fight to deal with their emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. In an effort to support the members of Kaely's Kindness, Tying Up Cancer has initiated a "Buy a bracelet for a Cancer Patient" program. When you buy a bracelet through this initiative, a member of Kaely's Kindness will receive a bracelet. To buy a bracelet for a patient, go to the "Bracelets for Patients" tab at the top of this page! Or you can click on that pretty little picture at the beginning of this post (yay for sunny days that are good for photography, generally uncommon for spring in this part of New York).
As always, we hope you have a great day and a great week! Thank you so much for your continued support.