The Reasons We Walk – Childhood Cancer

This past Sunday, Angela and I participated in the Northern Virginia CureSearch Walk in Fairfax, VA. It was actually a last minute decision on our part to do the walk. My son, Owen who is currently battling Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) had bi-lateral lung surgery the week prior to the walk and we weren’t sure if he’d be up for doing the walk by then. But as usual he surprised us all. So, his Aunt rallied the troops and Team Triumph in support of Owen was formed. And in a week we recruited 47 walkers and raised over $3K for childhood cancer.

Curious about CureSearch?

CureSearch for Children’s Cancer is a national non-profit foundation whose mission is to fund and support children’s cancer research and provide information and resources to all those affected by children’s cancer. CureSearch raises funds for promising research conducted at more than 175 hospitals across the nation. These hospitals participate in National Cancer Institute sponsored clinical trials conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group.

In the last 40 years, the overall survival rate for children’s cancer has increased from 10% to 78%. The goal is 100%.

• Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with cancer.
• Children’s cancer affects all ethnic, gender and socio-economic groups.
• The average age of children diagnosed is six.
• More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year.

Now back to the walk…. 🙂

The walk took place on a beautiful sunny day; it was chilly when we first arrived at the event but the weather was perfect by the time the walk started. The walk was about 1.2 miles long around Fair Lakes. It was an easy stroll which was good since there were a lot of kids in strollers or being held by their parents. We saw a few of the kids, nurses and doctors that we knew from Childrens Hospital as we walked around. Owen’s oncologist was one of the key speakers at the event and moved a lot of us to tears with her dedication to childhood cancer. Each of the children there that had battled or were currently battling cancer got a green ribbon with a medal on it that says “These Are The Reasons We Walk”. Owen’s oncologist was the person that placed his around his neck which of course brought me to tears.

Everyone had a great time at the walk; it really was just a fun family event. The event concluded with music from a live band, Papa John pizza, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Georgetown Cupcakes, face painting, cotton candy and lots of dancing by kids. But most importantly the overall event raised over $77K for childhood cancer.

Below are just a few photos from the event:

To see all the rest of the photos view the slideshow below

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