On September 5, 2023, the Louisa County Board of Supervisors proclaimed September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month -- supporting efforts across the nation to bring attention to all forms of cancer affecting children and adolescents.
The Resolution states:
WHEREAS, September is childhood cancer awareness month and all children regardless of who they are, deserve a childhood and a chance to grow up; and
WHEREAS, during this awareness month, advocates, non-profits, health care professionals, researchers, and family’s impacted want Virginians to know the prevalence and reality that children facing cancer experience each and every day; and
WHEREAS, pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children yet is grossly under-funded and under-researched, and 1 in 285 children in the United States will be diagnosed by their 20th birthday; and
WHEREAS, 46 children per day or 16,790 children per year are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. each year; and at any given time there are approximately 40,000 children on active treatment; and
WHEREAS, two-thirds of childhood cancer patients will have long lasting chronic health conditions as a result of their treatment toxicity, with one quarter being classified as severe to life-threatening, and in the last 20 years there have only been four new drugs approved by the FDA to specifically treat childhood cancer; and
WHEREAS, foundations, researchers, and healthcare professionals are working diligently to treat and cure pediatric cancer but need the support from all of us, and too many children are affected by this deadly disease and more must be done to raise awareness and ultimately find a cure.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED, on this 5th day of September, 2023, that the Louisa County Board of Supervisors herby designates September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and calls upon all citizens to do their part in observing this month and raising awareness for a cause that deeply impacts families in our community and communities across the nation.
