3 months!

As I sat down to write an update on Sofia (I'll get to that tomorrow) I realized the date
Today is February 10th, 3 months since Sofia was diagnosed. It is crazy that we have made it through three months, but sometimes it is hard to remember life before. It is just bizarre that 3 months and 1 day ago, childhood cancer was not even a thought in our minds.
What I think about most as I reflect back on the past 3 months, it is this "rare" disease that doesn't seem so rare to me.
When I first posted to facebook about Sofia's leukemia I was immediately messaged by friends who connected me with moms they knew who had gone or are going through the exact same fight. I don't have thousand Facebook friends, I have 252. That first day I was given eight names of moms in the Bay Area who have kids with leukemia. Within the week I was given 5 more names. I had a former employee tell me their sibling had leukemia as a child. I had family across the country tell me about their friends who went through this fight. Even the guy who was installing our baby gate around our pool had a close friend locally who had a son with leukemia. Not to mention the families in-patient at the hospital and the packed waiting room in the clinic. I hate to say misery loves company, but there was a comfort in hearing all of the happy ending stories. Or just talking through the bad or sad days with someone who knows how you feel. But remember, this disease is rare!
Since our diagnosis on November 10th I have also had three friends reach out letting me know their friends child was just diagnosed. They asked if I would talk with the families and my answer is always YES! I can't begin to thank the moms who spoke to me that first week. But, how are there so many kids here getting this "rare" disease?
I keep saying "rare" because this is why childhood cancer gets so little research funding. It is "rare" and therefore it only gets 4%. Let me repeat, the taxpayer-funded National Cancer Institute dedicates 4% of its annual budget to childhood cancer. Cancer is the number 1 cause of death by disease for children in America. I am so ashamed to say that I didn't know any of this three months and 1 day ago. I wish it didn't take my daughter getting cancer to realize this horrible fact. Just 1% more funding would result in $50,000,000 in addition funding for children with cancer.
I do not want to hear about any more of my friends or their friends children getting diagnosed with cancer. So now you know. I encourage you all to learn more about this and if you are donating to a cause make sure you know where your money is going. Know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Know that the color that that represents childhood cancer is Gold. Know that February 15th is International Childhood Cancer Day. Then share it, post it, give it attention. My daughter and all kids who had, have or will have are worth so much more than 4%!!