ATLANTA — New research shows that more children are being diagnosed with cancer each year, and one Atlanta nonprofit is hoping to put a stop to that.
But CURE Childhood Cancer isn’t only thinking about the child fighting the disease, they’re also looking out for the families fighting alongside them.
For 50 years, they have been working to advance research and treatment for cancers affecting children.
While survival rates are above 80%, cancer is still the leading cause of death by disease for children.
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Channel 2′s Karyn Greer spoke with the mother of a childhood cancer survivor who said CURE supported her and her family.
“I remember looking over at my daughter, who was 15 at the time, and I just looked at her. We locked eyes and I was like, ‘Do you understand what the doctor just said?’ You know, we’re, you know, tears and just stunned and shock and surreal,” Karen Rutherford said of the moment she learned her daughter had cancer.
Rutherford says she was determined to get through her daughter Katie’s diagnosis of rabdomysacoma, a rare solid cancerous tumor on her face.
“We were referred to Emory and they finally were able to do a biopsy. But it probably was a four month period of not really knowing, and it looked like it was growing before our eyes. Every day, this little, tiny little finally got to the size of like a quarter before we figured out what was going on,” she remembered.
That’s when Rutherford says they were introduced to CURE.
“When you have a child in cancer, you don’t want to leave their room, so to be able to just hop down to the family room real quick and grab a sandwich and come right back and be with my daughter, that was huge,” she said.
Mark Myers with CURE Childhood Cancer says there are between 500 and 600 children in Georgia diagnosed with cancer each year.
“An overwhelming majority are treated in Atlanta,” Myers said.
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On Wednesday, donating to CURE Childhood Cancer and raising money for cancer research was as easy as grabbing a bite to eat.
Channel 2 Action News stopped by a restaurant in Atlanta and found it packed with supporters.
“It’s been huge,” manager Travis Joyner said. “Customers coming in, one of our biggest days for a good cause.”
Last year’s Day of Giving resulted in CURE receiving more than $500,000 for emergency financial assistance.
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