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Crit Hit to Childhood Cancer
An Extra Life Gamer Fundraising Team
Who We Are
We are five friends who have all been touched by childhood cancer and are tired of it being passed over. We decided that the best thing for us to do was to get our hands dirty. Some people fight by walking, some bake, some sell t-shirts, they bike and hold bake sales- we game.
What We Do
We are going to participate in a world-wide event called Extra Life 2009- a gaming fund raiser, started by the Texas Children’s Hospital. Extra Life 2009 will take place on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 as gamers from all corners of the globe come together for a 24-hour video game marathon raising money to strike a blow against pediatric cancer. We have set a goal of $1,000 for our small team, but we would love to beat it!
Why Are We So Passionate?
Morgan Carey
1992 ~ 2008
Morgan passed away after suffering from an aggressive and rare brain tumor. She was the sister of two of our members and a friend to everyone who ever met her.
More information on Morgan’s story can be found at:
http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2007/11/christmas_comes_early_for_teen.html
http://blog-qa.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/08/pinckney_teen_dies_after_battl.html
How Can You Help?
Go to our Team and Donation Pages to show your support.
Donation Website: https://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/netcommunity/crithit2childhoodcancer
Team Website: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132974360657
-Flip Over For Facts On Childhood Cancer and Its Treatment-
- Facts on Childhood Cancer and Its Treatment-
v There are 15 children diagnosed with cancer for every one child diagnosed with pediatric AIDS. Yet, the U.S. invests approximately $595,000 for research per victim of pediatric AIDS and only $20,000 for each victim of childhood cancer.
v The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) federal budget was $4.6 billion. Of that, breast cancer received 12%, prostate cancer received 7%, and all 12 major groups of pediatric cancers combined received less than 3%.
v The American Cancer Institute spends less than 70 cents of each 100 dollars raised on childhood cancer.
v Cancer kills more children than any other disease, more than Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes and Pediatric AIDS combined. It is the number one disease killer and only second overall killer behind accidental death.
v Every school day 46 children are diagnosed. The average classroom size is 23 students. That’s 2 classrooms every school day.
v Pharmaceutical companies fund over 50% of adult cancer research, but virtually nothing for kids.
v 80% of children have metastasized cancer at the time of their diagnosis. At diagnosis, only 20% of adults with cancer show evidence that the disease has spread or metastasized.
v Although remission rates are steadily increasing, 35% of children affected will die.
v Detecting childhood cancers at an early stage, when the disease would react more favorably to treatment, is extremely difficult. This is because cancer symptoms in children are the following: fever, swollen glands, anemia, bruises and infection. These are often suspected to be, and at the early stages are treated as, other childhood illnesses. This means that most cancer is caught late, when survival rates have dropped dramatically.
v Even with insurance coverage, a family will have out-of pocket expenses of about $40,000 per year, not including travel.
v Treatment can continue for several years, depending on the type of cancer and the type of therapy given. But the average lifespan of a child with metastasized cancer from diagnosis to death is only 14 months. (Especially for Brain Cancer)
v As a nation, we spend $14 BILLION per year on the space program, but only $35 MILLION on childhood cancer research per year. 2007 was the last major space exploration. Since then, over 7,000 kids have died from cancer. By the way, the government recently CUT the budget for Childhood Cancer research.
