LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday took a step to raise awareness of childhood cancer.
Mayor Tim Barnes read a proclamation at the Tuesday evening council meeting designating September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The proclamation explained that cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children, with one in 285 children in the United States expected to be diagnosed with cancer by their 20th birthday.
The average age of cancer diagnosis for children is 6 years old, compared to 66 years for adults cancer diagnoses.
While mortality rates in childhood cancer have declined over the past four decades, there are still an estimated 1,800 children who die of cancer each year in the United States.
For two-thirds of childhood cancer patients, there are other challenges including chronic health conditions as a result of their treatment toxicity. Of those, one quarter have conditions that are severe to life threatening.
The proclamation recognized the organizations, advocates and hospitals across the United States working “to increase awareness of the signs of childhood cancer, advocate for active cancer screening tests and treatments, and support the families affected by childhood cancer.”
The council’s proclamation also stated that, only by increasing awareness will it be possible to control and ultimately defeat childhood cancer, and that it’s vital that those impacted by the disease “have access to quality and affordable care and the research for all forms of childhood cancer be supported.”
It also noted, “the determination and bravery of which these children fight these battles should be recognized and commended by all of us.”
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Lakeport City Council designates September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
- Elizabeth Larson
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