PayPal Stories Archive

 

This year, the parents of 16,000 children in America will hear these words: “Your child has cancer.” One in five of those children will not survive. Despite treatments invented at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® which have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 to 80 percent since the hospital opened in 1962, cancer remains the No. 1 cause of death by disease for U.S. children 14 and younger.

 

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is amplifying its efforts to raise awareness and funds for research and treatment of pediatric cancer.

 

In November 2012, right before the Thanksgiving holiday, Slade, a 9-year-old boy, developed an ear ache and a fever. His parents took him to an after-hours clinic, where the doctor on call realized Slade was seriously ill. Arrangements were made immediately to take him by ambulance to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There, Slade was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer.

 

Emily, Slade’s mother, was familiar with St. Jude, but never imagined her family would one day end up there. “We’ve been touched by the staff and other families,” she said. “They’ve helped us get through a difficult time.”

 

Slade’s treatment at St. Jude will include two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy, which he will finish in a matter of months. It’s an achievement his family is eager to celebrate. Today, Slade is back in school and plays basketball. He loves hamburgers and is a big NFL fan. “I am so proud of the way he has handled himself through all of this,” said Emily.

 

Because the majority of St. Jude funding comes from individual contributors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because we believe all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

 

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer. St. Jude freely shares its discoveries so that doctors and scientists around the world can save thousands more children. With your help, St. Jude can continue its groundbreaking work to not only provide the best treatments, but also enhance the quality of life for children battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

 

Join our movement and help support the little warriors at St. Jude in their big fight against childhood cancer. Visit stjude.org to learn more; follow facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude, and show your support using the hashtag #ShowYourGold.

 

You also can support St. Jude this December by making a donation through the PayPal Giving Fund. When you do, 100 percent of your donation will go to St. Jude, and for every donation of $10 or more, PayPal will add 1 percent more – growing your donation to help St. Jude families like Slade’s. 

 

Together, we can increase survival rates and reach a day when no child dies of cancer.