The recent Cancer Awareness Research and Eradication Walk on campus was a smashing success. According to a Daily Mississippian article, more than 2,000 students participated to raise approximately $52,000.
Before I go any further, I want to say that I think this event is a wonderful, fantastic, exemplary example of proactive student involvement for a great cause. I would not dream of anyone thinking that I mean to say that the CARE Walk was in any way bad.
That being said, I do want to address the major funding and awareness gap between childhood and adult cancers, so buckle down for a few statistics.
The federal government is the single largest contributor to cancer research, with the American Cancer Society coming in second. The government funnels cancer research grants through an entity called the National Cancer Institute.
According to the Childhood Cancer Foundation, the NCI spends roughly 96 percent of its budget on adult cancer research. If you do some quick math, you’ll find that leaves only 4 percent for childhood cancers.
To put it in perspective, the CCF reports that breast cancer research alone receives approximately $584 million each year, and all childhood cancer research receives just $26.4 million. Additionally, nearly three quarters of childhood cancer survivors develop chronic illnesses that affect them for the rest of their lives, including frequently severe cases that lead to death, not to mention that the risk for secondary cancers later is significantly increased, all according to the CCF.
I suppose the question of why I’m talking about this issue should be addressed. Well, the fact is that childhood cancer is defined as cancers affecting people 19 years old or younger. That is nearly half the student body at this university.
Think for a moment and try to recall the last time you saw awareness materials for childhood cancer? Relay for Life events are fairly common. Walmart has already set up pink displays, even though Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October, not September. My debit card has a pink ribbon on it, but have you ever seen materials talking about childhood cancer other than St. Jude? I haven’t.
We, as a nation, are very close to ignoring the thousands of children diagnosed each year. If any of the nearly 4,000 freshmen who came to Ole Miss this year develop cancer, half of the drugs used in their chemotherapy would be more than 25 years old. The techniques used for a majority of childhood cancer patients are older than they are.
I’m not saying that we stop fundraising for adult cancers in any way, shape or form. I am, however, saying that the awareness and funding gap between adults and children is somewhat unfair. I am saying that we shouldn’t leave half our campus without our support, should tragedy strike.
If you have the desire or time—though I doubt you have either—to go back and count the number of times I’ve used the word “cancer” in this article, 21 should be the number you reach. I know that’s a lot of fairly depressing jargon, but it doesn’t have to be.
The point here is that we have the ability to change things for the better; we have hope. So, the next time you have an opportunity to support childhood cancer treatment or research, do it and help make things a little better.
Ethan Davis is a junior philosophy and English double major from Laurel.
