Please Write or Email your Congress person today!

Tonight I'm heartsick as I have learned that another one of our little TCH friends, Ryan "Batman" Williams has relapsed. We just had the good fortune of getting to know his whole family on our Ranch Weekend. Please offer up a prayer for this little guy. He and his family have a long and mysterious road in front of them.
There is no "known cure" or even really great treatment plan for relapsed Neuroblastoma. But there is hope, and there are really smart researchers out there that WE need to put to work. I have an analogy in my heart for Neuroblastoma. Each of these kids has served a Tour of Duty. When they are NED (no evidence of disease) it's like they've made it home. And then, at any moment, at any day in their future, they can relapse or be called back out for another Tour of Duty. They didn't enlist but just got drafted right out of preschool. They are only babies, toddlers and school aged children fighting for their lives. It is heartbreaking and it is also criminal that our country isn't supporting the research efforts that CAN establish effective treatment methods for relapsed NB and can make initial treatment BETTER so our kids don't relapse. Please do something to help RIGHT NOW!
Hey - it's not plagiarism if you cite the source, right? So, I'm cutting and pasting from another NB mom. She's a prof at Texas A&M and she's already done her homework, so please read Below.
Warning: If you've been protecting yourself from some of the uglier statistics surrounding Hans' disease, you may not want to scroll down much further.
from: http://erinbuenger.blogspot.com/
These days, when I hear 1 in 300, all I can think of is the childhood cancer statistic: one in three hundred children in the U.S. will develop cancer before they reach adulthood. That always reminds me of another grim statistic. I read that each and every day of the year--Sunday through Saturday, Spring, Winter, Summer, Fall--a whole classroom of children will hear the cancer diagnosis. Frankly, I always imagined that meant twenty or so children per day. I was horribly wrong. The truly grim reality is based on a classroom size of 35. (If you are thinking you hope your child gets to be in Erin's class since she already has cancer. . .that's not the way statistics work.)
This month, September, is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month around the country and in Brazos County. If you do nothing else all month, you should do something to spread the word and help the cause. Here are some ideas:
visit a pediatric cancer patient's website (here is a good place to go: Kids Cancer Crusade), and leave a word of encouragement;
donate to Alex's Lemonade Stand (supports all pediatric cancer), or better yet, make plans to hold a lemonade stand yourself;
give up your lunch and send what you would have spent to Lunch for Life to (supports neuroblastoma research). Ask your friends and co-workers to do the same;
Support these dads (by going to Loneliest Road) who are riding their bikes coast to coast to raise money and awareness for Neuroblastoma treatment and research;
Write your Senators and Representative and ask them to support the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 (S. 911 and H.R. 1553) and to help get it out of committee and onto the floor of the chambers this month (this will authorize $150 million for research over the next five years);
Watch this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGS4yE5v9rM) and brain storm ways you can help;
Stop by the CureSearch website and read about even more things you can do to help in the fight against childhood cancer.
Thank you to all who have already helped in this cause. Every bit you do makes a difference. When I was a child, everyone I knew who had cancer died. We didn't even say the "C" word. Today, because of heightened awareness and a better flow of research dollars, many can be saved. Nevertheless, it will take millions to find a true CURE.

SOME FACTS ABOUT PEDIATRIC CANCER:

Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer in children.
Neuroblastoma is the most common cancer in infancy.
Neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial solid tumor cancer in children.
Every 16 hours a child with neuroblastoma dies.
There is no known cure for relapsed neuroblastoma.
Nearly 70% of those children first diagnosed with neuroblastoma have disease that has already metastasized or spread to other parts of the body.
When disease has spread at diagnosis and a child is over the age of 2, there is less than a 40% chance of survival.

Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in the US and it kills more children per year than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy,asthma and AIDS combined.

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.
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%.The American Cancer spends less than 70 cents of each 100 dollars raised on childhood cancer. "
We also need to contact our Senators and Representatives and tell them to get behind the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act 2007! Tell them why. No one wants to see a child suffer from cancer. Americans want their tax revenue to research ways to prevent ugly illnesses to our beautiful kids. This is something we ALL want to spend our money on. Please do this today!
www.house.gov and http://www.senate.gov/
Thanks -

Lara
PS - okay - to leave you on a gloriously happy note, Kev just pointed out the front page of the Houston Chronicle today. A boy by the name of Omar Amin was in the hospital for Luekemia many of the same stays as Hans. His mother and I became friends. He has been back on the Football field this Fall and plans to be back and even more serious next year, as a Senior! Way to go, Omar!