The path to a cure for any cancer is a long and arduous road because of the enormous resources that are required.
Within the milieu of resources vs. results, childhood cancer poses some unique challenges.
First is the issue of awareness. Currently, research into causes and cures for childhood cancers of all types merits just 4% of governmental funding into cancer research, and only marginally more when all types of cancer research dollars are considered.
Second, childhood cancer research is life giving. The vast majority of cancer research today involves cures that prolong life, promote positive end-of-life care and comfort, or delay the onset of metastases or secondary cancers. Research into childhood cancers, on the other hand, emphasizes research into eliminating the leading causes of health-related deaths of children ages 1-14 and promoting life long cures.
Third, childhood cancer research helps everyone. Research into childhood cancers is heavily weighted toward understanding the human genome, inherited traits and genetic modifications that not only provide a specific cure but hope for identification and elimination in classes of patients. Similarly, childhood cancer research provides insight, data and discoveries that carry through to the adult population.
The Beckley Foundation hopes to be a part of that future, to create awareness, and to foster the gleam of hope in a child’s and a parent’s eyes
Fourth, childhood cancer knows no boundaries as it affects all ethnic, gender, and socio-economic segments of the population. The good news is, so does the research. Extrapolated to adulthood, and to future generations, childhood cancer research has the ability to change not only lives, but communities and cultures.
Finally, childhood cancer research provides hope…hope where it is needed most, in the lives of the 40,000 children newly diagnosed each year and their families. Investment in childhood cancer research doesn’t just strive to prolong the enjoyment of an already rich and full life, it allows children a chance to realize their potential, build a future and establish hope in a tomorrow that might otherwise never come.