November 2008
Dear Friends,
Madelyn Bell is
only two years old yet she has experienced more in her life already than most of
us can imagine. Madelyn was diagnosed with
neuroblastoma five days shy of turning three months old. She spent the next year
of her life battling cancer with round after round of chemo, surgeries, and many
many trips to the Children’s Hospital, and she is thankfully in remission today.
Madelyn’s Mom Sheila explains,
“Having a child with cancer
is truly the hardest thing a parent can face in my opinion. It is thanks to
wonderful organizations like Children’s Chance that give us a place to go for
financial help, education and direction on how to cope with this. We have to be
strong for our children, but its organizations like this that can be strong for
us as parents. Although a child is diagnosed, the entire family must deal and
cope with its effects. Thank you so much Children’s Chance for everything
that you do for our families!”
Unfortunately
about 200 children a year are diagnosed with cancer in South Carolina and this
number continues to rise each year! Although over 78% of those children will
survive, cancer remains the number one disease killer of children in the United
States.
Children’s
Chance cannot erase the pain that families of children with cancer experience.
We can, however, lighten the burden by providing programs that address the needs
of the entire family during their journey with pediatric cancer.
We need your
help so that we can
continue to assist families like the Bell’s and help kids like Madelyn continue
on their road to being cancer survivors. Your continued support and
encouragement will help ease the financial, emotional, and psychological burden
these families face. Please complete the enclosed donation envelope now
and either mail in your check or fill in your credit card information. If you
would prefer to give by credit card please visit
www.childrenschance.org to donate online, or please take a moment to call
our office at (803) 254-5996 and DeeAnn Jones the Executive Director or Samantha
Higgins the Public Relations Director will be happy to assist you in this
process.
On behalf of
all South Carolina children fighting cancer and their families, thank you in
advance for your support!
Sincerely,
John Moore
Board of
Directors Chairperson