An Open Letter....

I am a cancer mom. I am also a grieving mom. I am a member of a horrible, yet growing, club of parents who have lost a child to cancer. As such I am increasingly disillusioned by how I see the priorities of my country and by my elected officials. Let me preface this by saying that I will not delve into the "who deserves what more" debate--many groups of children need help, all are deserving. Rather, it is a commentary on the situation from my perspective, as I see it. It was, however, the disaster in Haiti and the response to it that escalated this contemplation. So many people and so many organizations were so quick to respond to the horror in Haiti. It was an amazing thing to see, and yet I'm left wondering why Haiti's children get the attention our own children do not. Childhood cancer isn't a global disaster. It's not? Some 80-100,000 children worldwide die of cancer every year. It isn't an issue of national interest. It should be. In the United States today, childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of our children--claiming more lives than pediatric AIDS, cystic fibrosis, and asthma combined. These kids aren't splashed all over the news and being featured by tv and radio hosts. Why not? Why aren't these brave kids featured on tv and radio specials? Why isn't research funded better? Why don't our own elected officials take this issue seriously? In 2008, our Congress UNANIMOUSLY passed legislation promising $30 million dollars a year for childhood cancer research and initiatives. The first year following that legislation, barely $5 million of the promised amount was appropriated. The impression I am left with is that it is politically expedient to vote for the legislation, since saying no to helping children fighting cancer would look terrible on record, but in the end building libraries for dead politicians, building nature trails and studying fish are much more important. Democrats and Republicans have failed equally here, and at least in my state of Michigan, their response has been the big brush-off. I'm not even sure Senator Levin read the letter he responded to, his response was so generic, and there was no response from Senator Stabenow's office. What do I want?
I want my representatives to keep their promise. I want to see President Obama step up and request that Congress do what they said they would do, since they seem to have forgotten already. I want to see him take the lead. I want to see our kids on the news, across the nation, so people will see and understand how this effects so many people. I want people to stop thinking that this is a problem that will be solved by parents shaving their heads and selling ribbons and lemonade. We do what we have to, but this has to be so much bigger than just us, despite the loud voices some of us have. I want a cure. I want no more children to die, and no more parents in this club, ever.