Ok, folks. This one is worth taking a moment to read, not just skim over. We all love horror, but horror that helps children is even better. Please do what you can to help.
From the press release:
Children’s Cancer Awareness Month may be over, but that doesn’t mean they stop suffering. Children with cancer will suffer for the rest of their lives, no matter what age they live to. If the disease doesn’t kill them, it does have a profound effect on their health as do the drugs they have to take to counteract the cancer cells.
Take my son for example. He was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in 2011 when he was three. Yes, his survival rate is 95-99%, which is phenomenal, but we will always have to be diligent in the watch for cancer cells returning later in life. Also, the chemotherapy drugs he takes on a daily basis have affected the white matter in his brain. He is slightly behind in school and will always be behind. It’s sad to see him struggle with concepts that other children pick up without effort.
Children should not have to deal with cancer. There is no reason for it. They are just babies, barely starting their journey in life. To be hit with such a horrific roadblock at such a young age makes me cry. My son actually has an extra chromosome in his DNA. They have discovered that many boys with this extra chromosome develop leukemia. Researchers are working on a cure to get rid of the extra chromosome before it does turn into cancerous cells.
Families of cancer children have their lives overturned when learning of their child’s diagnosis. Everything you knew before gets thrown out the window and you have to start life differently. Everything revolves around the cancer. You fear for the common cold, knowing that it could make your child sick enough to be hospitalized and even possibly die. It is very stressful: emotionally, physically and financially.
I wanted a way to help these families. I am one of those families. Bleed became my project to try to raise money and awareness for this horrible atrocity. The response I got was overwhelming.
Bleed turned out to be 45 stories, poems and personal essays devoted to the monster of cancer. With authors such as Bentley Little, Rick Hautala, Joe McKinney, William Nolan, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Mort Castle, Tim Waggoner, to just name a few, this book is packed full of talent.
I hope this book will impact someone’s life. It has already impacted mine.
Buy Bleed now! All profits go to the National Children’s Cancer Society. www.thenccs.org
