Childhood Cancer Community

Growing up, there are always groups you want to be part of...clubs you want to join, cliques you wish you would be invited into, teams you hope to make. One group I never imagined I'd be part of is the community that is childhood cancer. Yet it is one of the most welcoming, loving and understanding groups of people I have known.

We have not been part of this community long...yet we are greeted and welcomed at every event we attend. We get hugs from people who are strangers, yet these strangers understand us in a way even those closest to us can't. Nurses and doctors we met just briefly hug us and catch up as though we are long lost friends. There is no discrimination between fighter families and angel families...we have all been changed by the same disease.

This is not a group I would ever wish anyone to join. Yet I am eternally grateful for the love and support we have received, and I hope our love and support has been felt in return. To all the families we have gotten to meet, whether in person or via the Internet, thank you. Thank you for fighting for these kids...all of these kids. Thank you for welcoming us as one of your own. Thank you for being there as we, and all of us, navigate the unimaginable.