Friday, September 21, 2012

Join Team Ethan

These are my friends, Chris and Kim:



This is their precious son, Ethan:


In honor of Ethan's courageous battle, they started The Ethan Jostad Foundation for Childhood Cancer to provide support for patient families and to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research. Kim is one of the top fundraisers for the 46 Mommas, and their foundation was recently awarded a grant by the Chase Community Giving program, so they are thrilled to be able to reach that many more families and to continue to share Ethan's story.

Every day this month, they have been posting a fact about childhood cancer on their foundation Facebook page, and this one is particularly familiar - and important - to us:


Leukemia is the most common cancer in children, but as with most childhood cancers, the symptoms are often suspected to be, and initially treated as, those of any number of common childhood illnesses. Many times, children go for weeks and months without a confirmed diagnosis, which is especially problematic with acute and/or more aggressive cancers. 

Georgia's only symptoms at diagnosis were extreme fatigue and pale skin. From the first day we noticed a change in her behavior to the day she was diagnosed was exactly two weeks. We were extremely lucky that we caught it when we did, and our greatest piece of advice when facing lingering, unexplained symptoms in your child is this: Ask for blood work.

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